Week 7 3.11.07 AM - week 7 PDF

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Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Altruism & Helping The Paradox of Altruism!

- acts of heroism! • crash of Air Florida fight 90; Washington DC; January 13, 1982! • attack on the Twin Towers; NYC; September 11, 2001! - the paradox of altruism! • altruism can be defined as “concern and help for others that asks for nothing in return; devotion to others without conscious regard for one’s self interests”!

• altruism is paradoxical from the view of all major theories of behavior! - behaviorism, Freud, Darwin all view people as inherently egoistic! - natural selection “will never produce anything in an organism being injurious to itself, for natural selection acts solely by and for the good of each” -Darwin, 1859!

- non-paradoxical explanations of altruism! • inclusive fitness and kinship selection! - selection works at level of the gene, not the organism! - behavior that helps others who have your genes can be selected for! • inclusive fitness, Hamilton 1964! - the adaptiveness of a behavior is measured not just by the effect it has on the actor’s reproductive fitness but by the effect it has on others’ fitness weighted by their relatedness!

• reciprocal altruism! - behavior that helps others at cost to self can be selected for if helping is reciprocated!

- norm of reciprocity and social exchange! • objective vs subjective benefits! - “i couldn’t have lived with myself if i didn’t help”! 1

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

- Carnegie “hero” medal! - the Kitty Genovese incident! • woman was stabbed and raped in public in NYC in 1964, at least 30 people saw something and didn’t intervene!

- bystander intervention! • motivated by Kitty Genovese incident! - key variable: # of bystanders! • examines situational determinants of helping! - avoids question of “true altruism”! • breaks down helping into a series of steps or decisions! • emphasizes construal processes! • uses laboratory experimentation! - decision-tree model of bystander intervention (Latane & Darley, 1970)! • notice the event? —> interpret as emergency? —> assume responsibility for helping? —> know what to do to help? —> implement decision to help?!

- no = fail to help; yes = help! - steps 1 & 2: noticing and interpreting! • normative or informational social influence? BOTH! - normative influence! • pressure not to “freak out” when others can see you — need clear proof that it is an emergency!

- informational influence! • pluralistic ignorance = everyone ignorant of others’ thoughts! • Darley et al (1973) — less helping if back to back! • more people = lower probability of helping! - radio study, Moriarty (1975)! • confederate lays down towel and radio next to subject at beach! 2

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

• either just leaves or asks if they’ll watch their stuff! • 2nd confederate walks by and takes radio! • DV = % stopping theft! • subject more likely to act if the person actually asked for them to watch their stuff! - the epileptic seizure study, Darley & Latane (1968)! • group discussion of “problems adjusting to college life”! • “subjects” in separate booths — take turns talking! - experimenter not listening for “privacy”! • one subject mentions problems with seizures! • manipulate # of other “subjects” real subject thinks are present! - first aid training study! • Schwartz & Clausen (1970)! • epileptic seizure situation! • half given first aid training prior to emergency and half given no training! • DV = % helping! - from Jerusalem to Jericho, Darley & Batson (1973)! • seminary students asked to give lecture on either: careers for ministers or parable of the good samaritan!

• told either: late, ready for you, or plenty of time! • on way across campus, come upon a man in distress! • DV = % stopping to help! • neither lecture topic nor any personality measure predicted helping behavior! • % stopping to help! - low hurry — 60%! - medium hurry — 45%! - high hurry — 10%! 3

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Does True Altruism Really Exist? Our Innate Moral Sense!

- early helping research! • focused on situational determinants of helping! - very successful! • ignored issues of altruism/morality! • highly cognitive! - treated helping as an emotionless decision making process! - helping and mood! • good mood promotes helping! - people more likely to help after finding a dime in a pay phone (1972)! • bad mood promotes helping! - guilt and helping (1972)! - mild sadness has similar effect! • mood maintenance explanation! - people motivated to maintain positive mood! - people in good mood want to stay that way! - people in bad mood want to get in good mood — negative state relief! - does true altruism exist? (and can experimental social psychology answer this question?)!

• negative state relief! - Bob Cialdini! - related to mood maintenance idea! - people help to relieve OWN distress! - purely egoistic motivation to help! • empathy-altruism! - Dan Batson! 4

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

- empathy = feelings about welfare of another! - people help to relieve OTHERS’ distress! - purely social motivation to help! - NSR vs EAH! • negative state relief! - victim suffering —> self-based feelings —> helping! • empathy-altruism! - victim suffering —> empathy for victim —> helping! - innate moral sense! • humans are ultra-social! - evolutionary niche is group living! • evolved a set of intuitive, emotional reactions to promote group living! - individuals who had these reactions —> better functioning groups —> better reproductive success!

• morally is evolved set of psychological mechanisms that suppress selfishness and promote group cooperation (which promotes individual fitness)!

- moral intuitionism! • rejection of rationalist view of moral development! • right and wrong are things we feel more than think! • most moral reasoning is post hoc — response to social request, defense, persuasion, conflict!

- what’s a picture worth? (2010)! • 4 moral dilemmas involving children or not! • on desk is a framed picture of either a rock or a cute baby! • examine ratings of moral acceptability of sacrificing a life! - emotion and morality! • “a single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic” -Joseph Stalin! 5

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

- the double-edged sword of morality! • source of great good! - rescuers! - charitable giving! - decreased violence! • but also of great evil! - communism! - fascism! - religious warfare!

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