Social Psychology by R. Smith, M. Mackie, and M. Claypool (fourth edition) – Summary chapter 14

Prosocial behaviour is behaviour intended to help someone else. Cooperation refers to two or more people working together toward a common goal that will benefit all involved. Altruism refers to behaviour intended to help others without any prospect of personal reward for the helper. Egoism refers to behaviour motivated by the desire to obtain personal rewards.

There are three factors that determine when we help:

1. Perceived need
   People should perceive that someone needs help.
2. Deservingness of help
   People should think that a person deserves help. This is based on the attribution of the cause and the norm of social responsibility. People should believe that it’s not people’s fault they need help (external attribution) and not that it is their fault (internal attribution).
3. Others’ presence
   People perceive the norm of either helping or not helping from others.

The norm of social responsibility states that those able to take care of themselves have a duty and obligation to assist those who cannot. The diffusion of responsibility refers to when others are present, responsibility is divided and each person feels less responsible for helping than when alone. The bystander effect states that the presence of more bystanders consistently decreases the likelihood of any person giving help. The bystander effect does not occur when the situation is perceived as dangerous. Norms can also determine whether helping is appropriate or not. Role models can influence the norm of whether to help or not. The religious principle describes whether you associate yourself with a religious group. The supernatural principle describes belief in a god. The supernatural principle (when activated) leads to more prosocial behaviour.

Prosocial behaviour might enhance the likelihood that genes will survive. If individuals help relatives who share their genes, the genes have a better chance of survival. Reciprocal helping can also occur, thus making prosocial behaviour evolutionary useful. Entire groups can also prosper when members act pro-socially. Prosocial behaviour can also produce more indirect rewards such as a good reputation and that’s good for one’s reproduction chances.

The desire to help often depends on perceptions of the potential rewards and costs of helping. People with relevant skills for helping are more likely to help because the costs for helping are lower to them. Perceived ability (e.g: skills or self-efficacy) influences helping. Emotions also influence helping. Positive people and people who feel guilty are more inclined to help. People in a positive mood are less inclined to help if helping would result in a more negative mood. People in a negative mood are more likely to help if they are motivated to improve their mood. Intense emotional arousal makes individuals more likely to help regardless of rewards or costs.

The negative-state relief model of helping states that people help others to reduce their own distress because people hate to see others suffer. According to this model, helping is egoistic.

The empathy-altruism model states that feelings of emphatic concern lead to a motive to help someone in need for his own sake. If people see someone in trouble, they can either experience distress or empathic concern. Personal distress motivates egoistic helping and emphatic concern leads to altruistic behaviour. The stronger the connection between two people, the more likely it is that someone feels empathy for the other. This can lead to an increased chance of helping. People are more likely to help one individual than a group of individuals because by focussing on a single individual, we tend to ignore the number of people needing help, as the degree of empathy and generosity is the same for one individual or an entire group. Thus, we donate one dollar to one person, but also one dollar to the group and not one dollar for every individual in the group.

Social dilemmas are situations in which the most rewarding action for each individual will if chosen by all individuals, produce a negative outcome for the entire group. Externally imposed rewards and punishments are often unsuccessful. They can be more successful if they are internally imposed, by the group itself. Costly incentives are more effective than free ones. Freeriding is easier in large groups, although large groups often have more resources to punish free-riders. Intermediate group size is best to increase performance and decrease free riding.

Trust refers to the expectation that others will act pro-socially during social interaction. Trust increases cooperation and the more strongly people’s interests are in conflict, the more important trust becomes. Trust can be increased by increasing communication among group members. Cooperation can be increased by ensuring equal opportunities and outcomes among group members. If the group is the thing upmost in someone’s mind, then cooperation will be more likely. Group norms favouring cooperation become salient guides for individual action. Identifying strongly with a group leads to cooperation and empathy leads to behaviour benefiting a single other individual.

The social value orientation are stable differences in the ways people act in social dilemmas. People with an individualistic orientation try to maximize their own outcomes. People with a competitive orientation try to win over others in a dilemma. People with a prosocial orientation try to maximize outcomes for the group as a whole.

When people process superficially, the most readily accessible mental representations will be the most likely to influence behaviour. Decisions based on extensive thought produce long-lasting commitments that are not easily changed. There are six different goals which serve mastery and connectedness needs which can be accomplished by volunteering: gaining understanding (1), new knowledge and skills (2), obtaining career benefits (3), helping solve personal problems (4), socializing with friends (5) and expression personal values (6).

Decisions that were made more quickly tended to be more prosocial. Superficial processing leads to more prosocial behaviour.

Help that relieves physical suffering and creates a positive relationship is always welcome. Help can make people feel the need to reciprocate and this can be problematic for people that cannot reciprocate. Dependency oriented help provides a solution to the immediate problem without teaching how to solve future problems. Autonomy oriented help provides tools or knowledge to solve problems on one’s own. There are several ways in which prosocial behaviour in society can increase:

1. Reduce ambiguity
   By making the need for help and cooperation clear, people are more likely to show prosocial behaviour.
2. Increase internal attributions for helping and cooperation
   By seeing help as positive just for help sakes prosocial behaviour can increase.
3. Teaching norms that support helping and cooperation
   Norms that support social responsibility and cooperation increase prosocial behaviour.
4. Activate prosocial norms
   By activating and making prosocial norms more accessible, prosocial behaviour can increase.
5. Infuse, don’t diffuse, responsibility
   Focussing the responsibility on specific people makes normative pressures to help more insistent.
6. Promote identification with those who need help and cooperation
   A feeling of connectedness with the person in needs breeds empathy and increases willingness to help.