cours 7

• When analysing markets, a range of assumptions are made about the rationality of economic agents involved in the transactions
• The Wealth of Nations was written

  1776
• Rational


  (in classical economic theory) economic agents are able to consider the outcome of their choices and recognise the net benefits of each one
• Prosocial behavior


  Helpful behavior
• Individualistic approach


  • Highlights the importance of a prosocial personality in fostering helpful behavior
• Prosocial personality


  Characterized by traits such as social responsibility, empathy, and an internal locus of control
• Individuals with a belief in a just world


  More likely to engage in helping behavior, especially when they perceive that problems can be solved through assistance
• Measurement tools for prosocial personality


  • Assessing beliefs in a just world
  • Assessing social responsibility
• Belief in a just world


  A generalized expectation that people receive what they deserve, and individuals may question this belief when witnessing undeserved suffering
• Social responsibility


  Fulfilling moral expectations and adhering to social norms, as demonstrated by behaviors like not abandoning friends in need
• The document discusses topics like egoism versus altruism, the consequences of helping for the helpers, and reasons for the absence of helping behavior
• The document provides insights into the factors influencing prosocial behavior and the psychological mechanisms at play in social interactions
• The document does not cover information related to the rationality of economic agents and "The Wealth of Nations" by Adam Smith
• The document offers a comprehensive exploration of social psychology concepts and their implications for understanding prosocial behavior
• Social Psychology
• Prosocial Behavior


  Actions that aim to improve the situation of the recipient of the help. The helper incurs costs and the recipient of the help receives a benefit in a broad sense.
• George Gunnesch-Luca
• Today's Topics I

  • Terminology, Definitions
  • Reasons for the absence of helping behavior
  • Explanatory Approaches: Sociobiological Approach
  • Explanatory Approaches - Individualistic Approach
  • Explanatory Approaches - Interpersonal Approach
• Today's Topics II

  • Egoism vs. Atruism
  • Consequences of Helping for the Helpers
• Helping

  Actions that aim to improve the situation of the recipient of the help. (The helper incurs costs and the recipient of the help receives a benefit in a broad sense.)
• Prosocial behavior


  A specific form of helping behavior, where helping is not motivated by professional reasons and the recipient of the help is a person. (Prosocial behavior can be motivated by both selfish and altruistic reasons.)
• Altruism


  A special form of prosocial behavior that is selfless (non-selfish) and often accompanied by empathy.
• Cooperation


  Behavior that maximizes the action outcomes of a collective.
• Steps in Latané and Darley's (1970) decision model of bystander intervention

  1. Perception of the Situation

  2. Interpretation as Emergency

  3. Assumption of Personal Responsibility

  4. Decision Implementation

  5. Choice of a Way to Help

  
• Possible Influencing Factors

  • Urban overload
  • Liveliness of the situation
  • Good mood
  • Clarity of emergency cues
  • Pluralistic ignorance
  • Cost of helping
  • Responsibility diffusion
  • Evaluation apprehension
  • Situational behavior norms
  • Helper in responsible social role
  • Help competence (e.g., first-aid training)
• The Bystander Effect: Darley & Latané, 1968
• Number of perceived bystanders

  Decreased willingness to help in emergencies
• The diffusion of responsibility leads to a decreased willingness to help in emergencies
• Counter Strategies

  • Education and awareness
  • Strengthen helpers' competencies
  • Make oneself recognizable as needing help (ask for help / call for help)
  • In the situation: address a specific person
• Sociobiological Approach


  Helping & altruistic behavior can increase the reproductive success of an individual or their genes if it increases indirect fitness (higher indirect reproduction of one's own genes through relatives) or is based on presumed/expected reciprocity (reciprocity expectation)
• The probability of mutual support increases when the group exists for a longer period, high mutual recognizability of group members is given, and great trust exists between helpers and help recipients
• Japanese & American students were presented with a series of everyday situations and life-threatening situations, and had to decide whom they would help in each case
• Mood as an influencing factor


  Good mood promotes helpfulness. However, this effect does not last long.
• Mood-congruent thinking


  The idea to help is more easily evoked in a good mood.
• "Mood as information"


  Mood serves as heuristic information that flows into judgment formation. (Mood signals that the situation is "unproblematic.")
• "Mood maintenance"


  Help to keep the good mood active (only if the act of helping is enjoyable, not if unpleasant).
• Field Experiment (Isen et al., 1976)
• Depending on the specific type of mood, bad mood has different consequences for helpfulness.
• Anger & Disgust - Reduce helpfulness

  Guilt & Sadness - Increase helpfulness
• Experiment on guilt: Women were asked by a stranger to take a photo of him. Half were made to believe they had broken his camera. Later: Opportunity to help a woman whose groceries fell out of her bag - 55% helped with feelings of guilt, 15% without guilt feelings.