Social Psychology Theories About The Development Of Prosocial Behavior And Altruism

Throughout life, one is to see many people they don’t know Humans walk past each other and no interaction occurs. Depending on a particular situation one might be in, it can change the ability to react, help and care for a stranger in need. In the article “We are all bystanders”, by Jason Marsh and Dacher Keltner, it shows how in certain settings people don’t act to help another, even though one might want to. “Everyday Stuart would board the bus and a couple of boys would tease him. I would sit silent and watch. I wish I would’ve helped” (Marsh/Keltner 3). People develop a feeling that prevents them from caring for strangers. This is due to a thought of peer pressure or judgement that could be given to an individual for taking action.

People don’t help others people unless it benefits them. An example of this is in the article “The Dying Girl That No One Helped”, when 38 or more people saw the girl dying but not a single person stopped and went outside to help. No one even picked up a phone and called the police until she was already dead. Lieutenant Jacobs said that most people “just don’t want to get involved”(Wainwright). An example that most people can relate to in their life is when something happens, such as a fight, or any other type of argument between people. Most of the time no one will help to break up the fight, they would rather stand by and watch. These examples show that people don’t want to get involved in something that doesn’t benefit them to help. People will only help when it benefits them to help, or hurts them to not help.

1. John Darley and Bibb Latané were interested in prosocial behavior, or behavior that produces positive social consequences, and they examined factors that contributed to the decision to assist in an emergency situation. They termed the behavior of helping others “bystander intervention.”

Pro-social behaviour can be defined as 'any actions that benefit another regardless of the benefits or self-sacrifices of the actor' (Wispe 1972, as cited in Collins 2004). A subcategory of pro-social behaviour is helping behaviour, which can be defined as an intentional behaviour or act that benefits another human being. There are many factors that can facilitate or impede helping behaviour and it is important to recognise the situations in which this may occur.

As ultra social creatures, human beings tend to have the propensity and desire to help others who are in need. However, there are certain instances where people seem less wiling to help. The question this paper will address is what makes people more willing to help in non-emergency situations as opposed to times of crisis. Why do we experience the phenomenon of the bystander effect during times when help is most needed? The introduction should clearly define the problem or issue at hand, and state the research question. It should also provide a clear statement of purpose, the goals of the paper, and an overview of the structural plan. It starts out broadly and becomes increasingly specific.

Additionally, being exposed to someone else’s pro-social behaviour influences our own as well. Seeing someone else do something good for someone has been shown to increase pro-social behaviour in others. That person is perceived as a role-model for pro-social behaviour in the eyes of others. This, however, does not mean that pro-social behaviour will be influenced in all people, as each individual behaves differently. One individual may look at a pro-social act and think it is good that someone intervened and move on; another may look at it and learn from it in hopes of implementing it into their lives in the future.

Doing good to others can end up helping you in the long run. That is the theme of two books I have read: The Ant and the Dove and The Hunger Games. In both of these books the main characters help each other and it ended up saving their lives.

The more bystanders there are more correlates to the likely hood of helping. This is because people do not help because they believe that someone else will do it instead and take responsibility. This is also known as diffusion of responsibility. Who we help is also a strong attribute that can influence when we participate in altruistic behaviour. Gender can actually effect who we help.

Today in America, we are starting to see a new disorder for kids that would replace what many doctors and school's system were quick to call a real disease. It is the general expectation that children will develop prosocial tendencies. In this case, they are expected to obey their parents, teachers and other adults, and also be able to relate well with their peers. However, in some cases the prosocial behavior is lacking in some children and such individuals may develop Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) (Gichovi & Karume, 2014). ODD is distinct from the more severe Conduct Disorder. It distinguished from typical childhood misbehavior in that the problem behaviors do not diminish with age (Gichovi & Karume, 2014). DSM 5 has classified ODD symptoms into three; namely, angry/ irritable mood, argumentative, and vindictiveness (Gichovi & Karume, 2014). In the United States, these symptoms are evident in children who frequently and persistently throw tantrums, argue with any authority figure and do things to hurt others deliberately. Families and teachers in the United States face the enormous task of handling such children, yet they lack the

We all understand that the intent to help other people is called prosocial, and Altruism is the people’s desire to help others irrespective of the cost.

This is especially true in the case of Kitty Genovese, who unfortunately fell victim to the Bystander Effect. Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death on a street in New York City. Dozens of witnesses were present, but none of them intervened beyond a shout of protest! When asked why they didn't intervene, their answers ultimately pointed to diffusion of responsibility – another psychological concept. Both the Bystander Effect and diffusion of responsibility influenced the witnesses to believe that someone else was bound to help Kitty – this, of course, led to none of the witnesses intervening and the untimely death of Kitty

The bystander effect is a fascinating psychological phenomenon in which people are less likely to lend support or aid to someone in need if there are other people present. The bystander effect seems ruthless and unethical, but it is a common reaction of many people when a stressful situation arises. The cause of it is likely a combination of several social forces. Most notably, the common scapegoat is “someone else will help”. This defers all feelings of responsibility and distances the bystander from the situation that they are observing. This is only one of the contributing forces that create this lurking danger of the bystander effect. This arises the important question of, how do we minimize its effect?

This is evidence that doing things for others comes from inside a person instead of from outside pressures. Another way beliefs affect behavior is by genuine altruism. “If I’m feeling good about myself, I can respond to the needs of others” (“Genuine Altruism”). This proves that one way someone helps others is if they're in the mood to help. People try to help when they have the time. “People who choose to help when they have the opportunity to pass by, like the good Samaritan, aren’t motivated by their own discomfort” (“Genuine Altruism”). This shows that if the person is not comfortable with helping they will not.Sometimes people help because they feel sorry for them. “Was once seen giving money to a beggar. When asked why, he explained that he was mostly trying to relieve his own distress at seeing the beggar’s distress” (“Genuine Altruism”2). This quote is evidence that people help because they care. Another way beliefs affect behavior is by altruism in children. Some people tend to the need of others. “There’s a basic human tendency to be responsive to other person’s needs, not just your own” (“Altruism in children”3). This proves that people take other people’s needs into consideration. People do things for a reason and they

Social Distance is the nature of the relationship between the person performing the helping behavior and the person who needs the help. Research findings have shown that social distance and altruism have a negative relationship, basically; altruism is likely when the relationship between these two persons are close or similarities are present (Rachlin & Jones, 2008). Based on the three factors necessary for altruism to exist, altruism is not present if the helping behavior is contingent on the social distance between the person helping and the person who needs help. This means that the person’s altruism is not truly genuine. Essentially, true altruism occurs without thinking. The person is willing to help whom ever, despite an established relationship.

Social and cultural pressures, as well as beliefs about the self will influence helping behaviors. In an emergency, both informational and normative social influences are impacting whether an individual helps another. People look for queues from others in order to determine if the current situation requires action to be taken. Also, people will do things simply to be accepted by the group (Aronson et al., 2013). In any