COURSE NOTES: Social

	Based on the course PSY/SOC 301, taught at The Sage Colleges by Prof. Susan Cloninger. This class uses the following textbook, which provides the chapter organization that you see on the menu on the left side of this page: Myers, D. (2005). Social Psychology (8th ed.) New York: McGraw Hill.

Chapter 12: 

Helping

[in lecture: Discussion examples will be presented, if time permits.]

• a motive to increase another's welfare without conscious regard for one's self-interests (Myers, 2005, p. 476)
• ex: the Good Samaritan

the case of Kitty Genovese

• For more than half an hour, 38 respectable, law-abiding citizens in Queens, NY watched a killer stalk and stab a woman in 3 separate attacks in Kew Gardens. Twice the sound of their voices and the sudden glow of their bedroom lights interrupted him and the sudden glow of their bedroom lights interrupted him and frightened him off. Each time he returned, sought her out and stabbed her again. Not one person telephoned the police during the assault. One witness called the police after the woman was dead. (March, 1964)

the case of Reginald Denny

• During the riots in south central Los Angeles on April 29, 1992, Reginald Denny was stopped by 4 African-American youths and beaten. Four other African-Americans who saw the event on television (live) came to his rescue, and saved his life.

WHY DO WE HELP?

• (overview)
• Gaining Rewards, Avoiding Punishment
• Evolutionary Psychology
• Comparing and Evaluating Theories of Helping
• Genuine Altruism

[lecture supplement] What motivated those who rescued Jews in Nazi Europe? (e.g., Oscar Schindler)

social norms (52%)

• helping was seen as obligatory by friends, family, or church

empathy (37%)

• moved by the suffering of those whose lives were in danger

commitment to the justice principle (11%)

• strong beliefs about how others ought to be treated

GAINING REWARDS, AVOIDING PUNISHMENT

Social exchange

Internal rewards

Social norms

SOCIAL EXCHANGE theory

• "the theory that human interactions are transactions that aim to maximize one's rewards and minimize one's costs" (Myers, 2005, p. 477)
• ex: donating blood if it brings rewards (feeling good, free snacks) and is not "costly" in terms of time, discomfort, anxiety

maximize profits, minimize costs ("minimax" strategy)

• egoism: a motive to increase one's own welfare
• not currently popular among researchers (Myers, 2005, p. 479)

"What seems to be generosity is often no more than disguised ambition." --La Rochefoucauld, 1678

• (an early exchange theorist!)

INTERNAL REWARDS

• guilt (increases helping in experimental studies)
• negative mood (increases helping in adults, but decreases helping in children, because they aren’t yet changed by socialization from their original selfishness)
• exceptions to the feel bad—do good scenerio (anger; self-focused grief)
• feel good—do good: happy people are helpful

SOCIAL NORMS

The reciprocity norm (Gouldner)

• "an expectation that people will help, not hurt, those who have helped them" (Myers, 2005, p. 484)
• ex: "Don't bite the hand that feeds you."

(supplementary information): The reciprocity norm varies across cultures:

• Hindu Indians see reciprocity as a moral obligation.
• US college students see reciprocity as a personal choice.
• Cultural differences in number of helpful acts during children's play (graphic)

The social-responsibility norm

• "an expectation that people will help those dependent on them" (Myers, 2005, p. 485)
• "Noblesse oblige" [in French]
• The social responsibility norm is also more strongly supported in collectivist India than in individualistic Western cultures (Myers, 2005, p. 485)
• Attributions matter: more help for people whose need is beyond their control

Gender and helping norms

• Women are helped more often in experimental (short-term, stranger) studies, and women seek more help (therapy, etc.).

EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY

Kin selection

• Would you run into a burning building to rescue your child? your niece? your third cousin? a stranger?
• Taking chances in order to help the survival of our genetic relatives is favored by evolution, because their genes are ours, too.

• According to the kin selection idea, there may be a genetic basis for conflict between different ethnic groups, since evolution pressures us to help only those who can pass on our genes.

• "Altruism based on kin selection is the enemy of civilization. If human beings are to a large extent guided ... to favor their own relatives and tribe, only a limited amount of global harmony is possible." --E. O. Wilson, 1978 (quoted in Myers, 2005, p. 488)

Reciprocity

• We mutually help and are helped by others, even nonrelatives.
• The norm of reciprocity has survival value, if it increases survival odds (by receiving help) more than increasing risks (by being hurt while helping others).

COMPARING AND EVALUATING THEORIES OF ALTRUISM

level of explanation [see Myers, 2005, p. 489, Table 12-1]

GENUINE ALTRUISM

Sometimes behaviors other than helping are alternative ways to reduce our distress (e.g., watching a comedy).

WHEN WILL WE HELP?

Number of bystanders

THE BYSTANDER EFFECT

• "the finding that a person is less likely to provide help when there are other bystanders" (Myers, 2005, p. 498)
• ex: Kitty Genovese; Latané and Darley's studies

Latane & Darley's model: bystander effect

Noticing

Interpreting

Assuming responsibility

The Good Samaritan Road Map [graphic presented in lecture]

Darley & Latane's seizure study

• diffusion of responsibility

• alone: 100% helped, in less than 1 minute average
• 2 in group: 85% helped
• 3 in group: 60% helped
• 6 in group: 30% helped, averaging more than 3 minutes

Helping When Someone Else Does

• prosocial models
• "Do as I say, not as I do."

Time Pressures

Darley & Batson's study at Princeton Theological Seminary: the Good Samaritan

In rural areas, people help more than in urban areas.

• helping accident victims
• helping a lost child
• giving directions
• participating in a survey
• returning a lost letter

Why are people less helpful in cities?

• Milgram's "urban-overload hypothesis" explains this difference.
• City residents have to tune out stimuli to avoid being overloaded.
• They may not notice people in need.
• Other people (strangers) are models of not helping.

With friends, and when the need is not ambiguous, people in cities do help.

Similarity

WHO WILL HELP?

Personality Traits

However:

• individual differences do exist
• networks of traits combine to produce helping (e.g., positive emotionality plus empathy plus self-efficacy)
• personality interacts with situations

Gender: men help strangers in dangerous situations; women help in safer situations, and also in long-term relationships that involve greater commitment.

• women seek and get more help than men

Women generally score higher on "empathy." Here are some empathy questions:

• "When I am reading an interesting story or novel, I imagine how I would feel if the events in the story were happening to me."
• "Before criticizing somebody, I try to imagine how I would feel if I were in their place."
• "When I see someone being taken advantage of, I feel kind of protective towards them."
• "I am often quite touched by things that I see happen."

On a scale consisting of such items, females were more empathic on 4 types of items:

• fantasy
• perspective-taking
• empathic concern
• personal distress

Religious Faith

HOW CAN WE INCREASE HELPING?

UNDOING THE RESTRAINTS ON HELPING

Reduce ambiguity, increase responsibility

• personal invitation (to donate blood)
• expectation of meeting the person in distress
• increasing self-awareness

Guilt and concern for self-image

• reprimand for disobeying "do not touch" or "do not feed" signs
• door-in-the-face technique
• "even a penny will help"

SOCIALIZING ALTRUISM

Teaching moral inclusion

• as opposed to moral exclusion

Modeling altruism

Attributing helpful behavior to altruistic motives

• overjustification effect

Learning about altruism

[Myers's] Personal Postscript: Taking Social Psychology Into Life

Moore (1984) article, "The evolution of reciprocal sharing."
http://weber.ucsd.edu/%7Ejmoore/publications/Recip.html

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