Helping and Harming Others: Social Psychology Study Guide

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Helping & Prosocial Behaviour

Definition and Examples

Prosocial behaviour refers to actions intended to benefit another person, including helping, giving, sharing, and cooperating. These behaviours are fundamental to social cohesion and are studied extensively in psychology.

Helping: Providing assistance to others in need.
Giving: Donating resources or time.
Sharing: Distributing resources among others.
Cooperating: Working together towards a common goal.

Soldier helping a child People helping an elderly person cross the street Person helping another climb a hill Person giving food to a homeless individual

Situational Influences on Helping

People are more likely to help in certain situations, influenced by factors such as escape difficulty, victim characteristics, mood, role models, conformity, and time pressure.

Escape Difficulty: Helping increases 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).
Good Mood: Positive emotions enhance prosocial actions.
Role Models: Observing others help increases likelihood of helping.
Conformity: Social norms and group behaviour influence helping (e.g., community drives).
Time Pressure: People not in a hurry are more likely to help (e.g., Samaritan study).

The Bystander Effect

Definition and Causes

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.

Diffusion of Responsibility: Each bystander assumes someone else will help.
Social Influence: People use others as guides for behaviour, especially in ambiguous situations.

Cartoon illustrating bystander effect with people watching and not helping Cartoon of villagers not helping someone attacked by ants News article about bystanders not helping a mugged man

Steps to Helping in an Emergency

Notice the event
Interpret it as an emergency
Take responsibility
Know how to help
Act to help

Why Do We Help Others?

Genetic and Learned Influences

Helping behaviour is influenced by both genetic predispositions and learned social norms.

Kin Selection: Tendency to help relatives due to evolutionary advantages.
Norms of Reciprocity: Social expectation to return favours.
Learning: Prosocial behaviour is learned through rewards, values, and observation.

Altruism

Altruism is the motive to increase another's welfare without conscious regard for one's self-interest. Examples include disaster relief and helping strangers in emergencies.

True Altruism: Debate exists whether pure altruism is possible, as motives may be mixed.

Aggression, Attitudes & Prejudice

Aggression: Definition and Types

Aggression is any behaviour intended to harm another person or living thing, either physically, verbally, or by deliberate inaction. It is classified as hostile (driven by anger) or instrumental (goal-oriented).

Hostile Aggression: Motivated by anger or emotion.
Instrumental Aggression: Used as a means to achieve a goal.

Situational Influences on Aggression

Several factors can increase aggressive behaviour, including frustration, evolutionary drives, media, aggressive cues, arousal, substance use, and environmental temperature.

Frustration-Aggression Theory: Frustration from blocked goals leads to aggression.
Evolutionary Theory: Aggression serves survival and reproductive functions.
Media Influences: Exposure to violent media increases aggression.
Aggressive Cues: Presence of weapons or aggressive individuals can trigger aggression.
Arousal: Physiological arousal can amplify aggressive responses.
Alcohol & Drugs: Lower inhibitions and increase impulsivity.
Temperature: Higher temperatures are linked to increased aggression.

Graph showing aggression rates by season and quarter Graph showing probability of pitchers hitting batters as temperature increases

Culture of Honour

Some cultures encourage individuals to defend their honor, which can increase aggressive behaviour and influence conflict resolution. Studies show higher aggression and testosterone levels in regions with strong honor cultures.

Bar graph comparing aggression and testosterone levels in Northern and Southern students

Attitudes & Persuasion

ABC Model of Attitudes

The ABC model describes attitudes as composed of three components: affect (emotions), behaviour (actions), and cognition (thoughts).

Affective: Emotional response to an object or idea.
Behavioural: Actions or intentions towards the object.
Cognitive: Beliefs and thoughts about the object.

ABC Model of Attitudes diagram

Persuasion and the Elaboration Likelihood Model

Persuasion is the attempt to change someone's attitude to influence their behaviour. The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) proposes two routes to persuasion: central (focused on information) and peripheral (focused on surface cues).

Central Route: Involves careful consideration of arguments and evidence.
Peripheral Route: Relies on superficial cues such as credibility, attractiveness, and endorsements.

Diagram showing central and peripheral routes to persuasion Illustration of course selection cues for central and peripheral routes

Factors Influencing Persuasion

Source: Credibility, expertise, and attractiveness of the communicator.
Message: Two-sided messages are more effective; emotional appeals can be persuasive if they offer solutions.
Audience: Younger individuals, those with low self-esteem or intelligence, and high self-monitors are more easily persuaded.

Cognitive Dissonance

Definition and Reduction

Cognitive dissonance is the unpleasant mental experience of tension resulting from two conflicting thoughts or beliefs. Individuals are motivated to reduce dissonance by changing behaviour, rationalizing, or adding new cognitions.

Change Behaviour: Align actions with beliefs.
Change Cognitions: Rationalize or deny inconsistencies.
Add New Cognition: Introduce new thoughts to resolve conflict.

Prejudice & Discrimination

Definitions

Prejudice: Negative attitude toward an individual based on group membership.
Stereotype: Specific belief about individuals based on group membership.
Discrimination: Negative action toward an individual due to group membership.

Nature and Roots of Prejudice

Prejudice is shaped by adaptive conservatism, in-group and out-group biases, and is learned through socialization and media. Explicit prejudice is conscious and admitted, while implicit prejudice is unconscious and automatic.

Adaptive Conservatism: Evolutionary tendency to distrust unfamiliar individuals.
In-group Bias: Favoring one's own group.
Out-group Bias: Viewing outsiders as similar and less favorable.
Implicit Association Test (IAT): Measures automatic associations and biases.

Contributing Factors

Scapegoat Hypothesis: Prejudice arises from blaming other groups for misfortunes.
Just-world Hypothesis: Belief that the world is fair leads to victim blaming.
Conformity: Social pressure can reinforce prejudiced attitudes.
Observational Learning: Prejudice is learned from parents, peers, and media.

Real-world Examples and Studies

Jane Elliott's Blue Eyes-Brown Eyes Experiment: Demonstrated how discrimination can be created and experienced.
Robber's Cave Study: Showed that competition leads to hostility, but cooperation on superordinate goals reduces tension.

Type	Definition	Example
Prejudice	Negative attitude toward group	"I hate people who own small white dogs"
Stereotype	Belief about group members	"People who own small white dogs are arrogant"
Discrimination	Negative action toward group	"I would never hire someone who owns a small white dog"

Additional info: These notes expand on brief points from the original slides, providing definitions, examples, and academic context for each concept. Images included are directly relevant to the explanation of prosocial behaviour, the bystander effect, aggression, and attitudes.