Helping and Harming Others

Prosocial Behaviour

Prosocial behaviour refers to actions intended to benefit another person. This includes helping, giving, sharing, and cooperating. Such behaviours are fundamental to social cohesion and positive group dynamics.

• Helping: Providing assistance to others in need.

• Giving: Donating resources, time, or effort for the benefit of others.

• Sharing: Distributing resources or opportunities among individuals.

• Cooperating: Working together towards a common goal.

Situational Influences on Helping

People are more likely to help in certain situations, influenced by both the context and characteristics of those involved.

• Escape Difficulty: Helping is more likely when people cannot easily leave the situation.

• Victim Characteristics: Individuals are more likely to help those perceived as deserving (e.g., someone using a cane vs. someone intoxicated).

• Good Mood: Positive emotions increase the likelihood of helping.

• Positive Role Models: Observing others help can encourage similar behavior.

• Conformity: Social norms and group actions (e.g., community drives) can promote helping.

• Lack of Hurry: People not in a rush are more likely to stop and help (as shown in the Samaritan study).

The Bystander Effect

The bystander effect describes the phenomenon where individuals are less likely to help in an emergency when others are present. This is due to diffusion of responsibility and social influence.

• Five Steps to Helping in an Emergency:

  1. Notice the event

  2. Interpret it as an emergency

  3. Assume responsibility

  4. Know how to help

  5. Decide to help

• Diffusion of Responsibility: The presence of others leads to a decreased sense of personal responsibility.

• Social Influence: People look to others for cues on how to behave.

Why Do We Help Others?

Helping behavior is influenced by both genetic and learned factors.

• Kin Selection: People are more likely to help close relatives, as this increases the survival of shared genes.

• Norms of Reciprocity: Social norms encourage helping those who have helped us.

• Learning: Helping can be reinforced through rewards, internalized values, and social approval.

Altruism

Altruism is the motive to increase another’s welfare without conscious regard for one’s self-interest. True altruism is debated, as some argue all helping has underlying self-benefit.

• Examples: Providing disaster relief to strangers, helping others in emergencies without expectation of reward.

Aggression, Attitudes, and Prejudice

Aggression

Aggression is any physical or verbal behavior—or deliberate failure to act—that is intended to harm another person or living thing. It can be hostile (driven by anger) or instrumental (goal-oriented).

• Hostile Aggression: Motivated by anger, with the intent to cause pain.

• Instrumental Aggression: Used as a means to achieve a goal.

• Intention: The intent to harm is a key factor in defining aggression.

Situational Influences on Aggression

• Frustration-Aggression Theory: Frustration from blocked goals increases aggression.

• Evolutionary Theory: Aggression can serve adaptive functions, such as resource competition.

• Media Influences: Exposure to violent media can increase aggressive thoughts and behaviors.

• Aggressive Cues: Presence of weapons or aggressive symbols can trigger aggression.

• Arousal: Physiological arousal can intensify aggressive responses.

• Alcohol & Drugs: Lower inhibitions and increase likelihood of aggression.

• Temperature: Higher temperatures are associated with increased aggression.

Culture of Honour

Some cultures promote the idea that defending one's honor justifies aggression. This can influence how individuals respond to insults or threats.

Attitudes and Persuasion

Attitudes are evaluations of people, objects, or ideas, and can be changed through persuasion. The ABC model describes attitudes as having affective, behavioral, and cognitive components.

• Affective: Emotional reactions (e.g., "I feel happy about recycling").

• Behavioral: Actions or observable behavior (e.g., "I recycle regularly").

• Cognitive: Beliefs or thoughts (e.g., "Recycling helps the environment").

Persuasion and the Elaboration Likelihood Model

Persuasion is an attempt to change someone’s attitude to influence their behavior. The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) proposes two routes to persuasion:

• Central Route: Focuses on the quality and content of the message; used when the audience is motivated and able to process information.

• Peripheral Route: Focuses on superficial cues such as attractiveness, credibility, or emotional appeal; used when the audience is unmotivated or unable to process information deeply.

Determinants of Route Selection

• Motivation and Ability: High motivation and ability favor the central route; low motivation or ability favor the peripheral route.

• Source Characteristics: Credibility, attractiveness, and expertise can enhance persuasion, especially via the peripheral route.

• Message Characteristics: Two-sided messages are more effective; emotional appeals can be persuasive if they provide a way to reduce fear.

• Audience Characteristics: Younger individuals, those with low self-esteem, and those low in need for cognition are more easily persuaded.

Cognitive Dissonance

Cognitive dissonance is the uncomfortable tension resulting from holding two conflicting thoughts or beliefs. People are motivated to reduce this tension by changing their behavior, rationalizing, or adding new cognitions.

• Example: A person who values health but eats unhealthy food may justify their behavior or change their beliefs to reduce dissonance.

Prejudice and Discrimination

Prejudice is a negative attitude toward individuals based on group membership. Stereotypes are specific beliefs about groups, and discrimination is negative behavior toward group members.

• Prejudice: Negative feelings toward a group (e.g., racism, sexism).

• Stereotype: Overgeneralized beliefs about a group.

• Discrimination: Unjust treatment based on group membership.

Nature and Roots of Prejudice

• Adaptive Conservatism: Evolutionary tendency to distrust unfamiliar individuals.

• In-group Bias: Favoring one's own group.

• Out-group Bias: Viewing out-group members as similar.

• Explicit Prejudice: Conscious, openly expressed negative attitudes.

• Implicit Prejudice: Unconscious biases, measured by tools like the Implicit Association Test (IAT).

Contributing Factors to Prejudice

• Scapegoat Hypothesis: Blaming other groups for personal or societal problems.

• Just-world Hypothesis: Belief that the world is fair, leading to victim-blaming.

• Conformity: Adopting prejudiced attitudes to fit in with a group.

• Social Learning: Prejudice is learned from parents, peers, and media.

Reducing Prejudice

• Contact Hypothesis: Intergroup contact under appropriate conditions can reduce prejudice.

• Superordinate Goals: Cooperation toward shared goals reduces intergroup hostility (e.g., Robber’s Cave study).

*Additional info: Academic context and examples have been expanded for clarity and completeness. Only images directly illustrating prosocial behavior, the bystander effect, aggression, and persuasion models have been included as per instructions.*