Social Relations: Helping

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  • Created on: 12-05-15 18:15
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  • Social Relations: Helping
    • Social Exchange Theory
      • External Rewards
        • The approval of someone attractive or someone we admire
          • Krebs (1970)
        • Other rewards include monetary incentives
      • Internal Rewards
        • Guilt + Helping
          • Carlsmith + Gross (1969)
          • Involved 40 male ppts in a 'learning' experiment
          • They either sounded a buzzer or gave an electric shock to their partner if they got something wrong
          • Those who gave buzzer cause they'd help sort papers 25% of the time, compared to 75% for those who hurt.
        • The positive effect of increased self worth
        • A reduction of distress at seeing someone else suffer or struggle
        • 457 teens were studied. It was found that helping others positively correlated with well-being in boys & girls, correlated positively with health in girls.
          • Shwartz et al (2009)
        • It was found that youth who engaged in community service projects eg tutoring etc were less likely to be delinquent + get pregnant
          • Piliavian + Anderson (1998)
      • Homans (1958)
      • Interactions are actually transactions whereby people exchange rewards + costs
        • People weigh out the costs + rewards of helping. The rewards can be internal or external.
    • Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis
      • Batson (1981)
      • Batson et al (1981)
        • 44 female ppts were told they were in a 'working under aversive conditions trial'.
        • They watched a confederate who admitted that a fall as a child against an electric fence made her sensitive to pain get 2 or 10 rounds of electric shocks
        • They were told they could switch at anytime. Those who only had to see 2 trials switched less if the confed was dissimilar in attitudes to the ppt
        • There was no difference if the confed was said to be similar, suggesting an empathic response was generated.
      • Schaller + Cialdini (1988)
        • Questioned whether Batson found geniune altruism.
        • Feeling empathy makes us sad, helping would fix the sadness but if presented with a comfortable alternative, we are less likely to help.
      • Batson proposed that purely altruistic action can occur provided that it is preceded by empathic concern for another
    • Social Norms
      • Reciprocity Norm
        • To those who help us, we feel we must return the help
        • Goulder (1960)
        • We invest in others and expect in return
      • Social Responsibility Norm
        • Berkowitz (1972)
        • People should help those who need help, without regard to future exchanges
        • But our willingness to help depends on the cause of need for help
          • If it is external, we are more likely to help (eg. an earthquake)
          • If it is internal, we are less likely to help (eg. laziness)
    • Evolutionary Explanations
      • Kin Selection
        • Parents who prioritise their children's welfare are more likely to pass their genes on
        • Kin selection is favouritism to those who share our genes
        • Parents are more devoted to their children as their need their genes passed on, not the same vice versa
        • Myers (2013)
      • Reciprocity
        • Genetic self interest predicts reciprocity
        • It best works in small isolated groups where you are likely to see the other person often
        • Social female baboons who groomed together + stayed close tot he group had a reproductory advantage as their infants are more likely to live longer
          • Silk et al (2003)
        • Those in small villages were more likely to help, rely phone messages, post lost letters than those in the city
          • Hedge + Yousif (1992)
      • Group Selection
        • When groups are in competition, groups of mutually supportive altruists outlast groups of non-altruists
        • Darwin
    • Why/When do we help?
      • No. of bystanders
        • Noticing
          • Colombian Uni men filled out a questionnaire either by themselves or with 2 others.
          • An 'emergency' was staged, smoke poured into a room via a vent
          • Those alone took 5 secs to notice it, in a group it took 25 secs
          • Latane + Dabbs (196)
        • Interpretting
          • They suggested that the ppts must have been thinking 'others are calm, so it must not be n emergency'.
          • Those alone got up to report it but those in the room didnt move till the air was so thick you couldnt see
        • People have been found to be more helpful when on their own than when in the company of others
        • 147 confes dropped pens or coins in elevators.
        • If there was just one other person, 40% helped, if 6, only 20% helped.
        • Latane + Dabbs (1975)
        • As the no. of bystanders increase, people are less likely to notice, interpret as emergency + assume responsibility
      • When someone else does
        • LA drivers were more likely to stop to help a female with a flat tire if they had seen someone else do it a 1/4 mile beforehand
          • Bryan + Test (1967)
        • Brit Adults were more willing to donate blood if they saw someone else consent to donating
          • Rushten + Campbell (1977)
        • This suggests that models of good behaviour work like aggression ones do.
      • Time pressures
        • Ppts were asked to collect their thoughts before being directed to an adjacent building to record a talk on the good samaritan parable
        • Half were told they were late, half were told they wouldnt be expected for a few minutes
        • They all passed a slumped man, 10% of 'late' ppts stopped to help.e3w4444=][
        • Darley & Batson (1973)
      • Similarity
        • We are more likely to help those who are similar to us
          • Miller et al (2001)
        • Students who were Man U fans passed a jogger who slipped + hurt their ankle were 80% likely to help if he was in a Man U shirt. Less likely if he was in a liverpool shirt
          • Levine et al (2005)
    • Who will help?
      • Personality
        • There is no common similarity trait within the rescuers of the jews in WW2
        • Darley (1995)
      • Gender
        • Meta-analysis of 35 studies was conducted.
        • It was found that women offered help equally to males/females
        • Men offered help more to women, especially if they were attractive
        • Women often seek out more help
        • Eagly + Crawley (1986)
        • In potentially dangerous situations, men are more likely to help b, women are more likely to volunteer for good causes
          • Pryor et al (2010)

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