Chapter 10
Helping
Behavior
Prologue
Part 1
It is March 13, 1964 in a quiet, relatively crime-free
neighborhood of a metropolitan city.
At 3:20 a.m., a 28-year-old women drives back to her home in this
neighborhood and parks her car in a lot near her apartment
building
The young woman starts walking towards her entrance. But, then,
she sees a man standing at the edge of the parking lot
So, instead of going straight home, she heads toward a main
street, where a police "call box" is located
She's too late. The man grabs her under a streetlight on the
corner of the street
She screams "Oh, my God, he stabbed me! Please help me! Please
help me!"
IF PEOPLE SAW THIS: HOW MANY OF THEM WOULD BE WILLING TO TRY TO
HELP THE WOMAN? (read out loud alternatives; have students write down
their answers)
No one would be willing to try to help?
One or two people would be willing to try to help?
Half the people would be willing to try to help?
More than half the people would be willing to try to help?
Most of the people would be willing to try to help?
Practically all of the people would be willing to try to
help?
(choose only ONE of the above alternatives before you
continue)
Part 2
Someone from an apartment building floor higher up yells out "Let
that girl alone!"
Hearing this, the killer starts walking away toward a white
car.
The neighbors turns out their lights
But, the killer returns and starts stabbing her again.
This time she screams "I'm dying! I'm dying!."
IF PEOPLE SAW THIS, HOW MANY OF THEM WOULD BE WILLING TO TRY TO
HELP THE WOMAN?
No one would be willing to try to help?
One or two people would be willing to try to help?
Half the people would be willing to try to help?
More than half the people would be willing to try to help?
Most of the people would be willing to try to help?
Practically all of the people would be willing to try to
help?
(choose only ONE of the above alternatives before you
continue)
Part 3
Neighbors again open their windows and turn on their lights; a
city bus drives by; the killer runs to his car and starts to drive
off . The woman is now struggling to make it to her apartment.
IF PEOPLE SAW THIS, HOW MANY OF THEM WOULD BE WILLING TO TRY TO
HELP THE WOMAN?
No one would be willing to try to help?
One or two people would be willing to try to help?
Half the people would be willing to try to help?
More than half the people would be willing to try to help?
Most of the people would be willing to try to help?
Practically all of the people would be willing to try to
help?
(choose only ONE of the above alternatives before you
continue)
Part 4
Now, it's around 3:45 a.m.:
The killer returns again, searches for the woman, finds her, and
seems to deliver the final, fatal stab wound.
IF PEOPLE SAW THIS, HOW MANY OF THEM WOULD BE WILLING TO TRY TO
HELP THE WOMAN?
No one would be willing to try to help?
One or two people would be willing to try to help?
Half the people would be willing to try to help?
More than half the people would be willing to try to help?
Most of the people would be willing to try to help?
Practically all of the people would be willing to try to
help?
(choose only ONE of the above alternatives before you
continue)
Epilogue
You just heard about the actual murder of Kitty Genovese in
Queens, New York. A total of 38 neighbors watched from the safe haven
of their homes as the killer stalked and stabbed her to death over a
period of 35 minutes.
The first phone call to police station took place at 3:50 a.m.,
after Kitty was already dead. The man who had called the station had
even first called a friend further away in Nassau County to ask
advice as to what he should do. He didn't even call the police from
his own home and went instead to another neighbor's apt. to call the
station. He stated that he didn't want to get involved.
Think of the last time you needed help in
an emergency
Did you receive it? Why or why not?
Think of the last time you could've offered help in an
emergency?
Did you? Why or why not?
Responding to emergencies
Kitty Genovese murder (1964) launched this
area of research
Darley & Lantané coined the term bystander
effect:
the finding that as the number of bystanders
increases,
the likelihood of any one bystander helping decreases
and
the more time passes before anyone helps
Bystander effect is due (in part) to
diffusion of responsibility:
the decrease in an individual's sense of
responsibility to help in an emergency when other bystanders are
present
Responsibility gets diffused out across all people
present
Therefore: the greater the number of bystanders, the less
likely each is to act.
Darley & Lantané identified five
steps, or choice points, that result either in no help being given or
moving on to the next choice point (p. 277 book)
Five Steps to Helping Model (CD-ROM, if
available)
(1) Notice: Bystander must notice that
there is an emergency going on. If you don't notice, won't label as
an emergency
If bystander is distracted, won't notice (e.g., if
you're busy, in a hurry, etc.)
If bystander is preoccupied with self-concerns, he/she may not
even notice the emergency
Darley & Batson (1973) study of "good Samaritan" seminary
students
If you notice, then you go to step 2
( 2) Correctly interpret: Bystander must
then interpret the situation as an emergency
If situation is ambiguous, bystanders tend to hold back and wait
for more information
"lover's quarrel?" example
When situation ambiguous, look at other bystanders to see what
they are doing (social comparison)
If bystanders are friends, they may communicate about
whether emergency but, will they interpret correctly?
If people are strangers, little communication and all may
simply "stand there"
Each uses this "information" to justify not taking
action
Reflects Pluralistic Ignorance
(assume that everyone else knows something you don't! Ex: They
"know" it's not an emergency)
(3) Assume Responsibility: Bystander must
then decide whether to take responsibility for taking
action
Here is where diffusion of responsibility may operate
Think back to Kitty Genovese
(4)Decide how to help: Bystander must
decide whether s/he has knowledge, skills, and training to provide
help
If you feel unskilled (etc.), you may not help, even though
you've passed through prior 3 steps
(5) Offer help: Bystander must decide to
actually offer help
see arousal: cost-reward model (in book)
you feel aroused to help, but whether you help is affected by
"bystander calculus"
if benefits of helping (e.g., you really can save victim; you'll
be a hero) outweigh costs ----> help offered
if costs (lost time; law suits; self endangerment) outweigh the
rewards ---> help not offered
audience inhibition (e.g., fear of making a bad impression) is
one cost interfering with help actually being given
Other approaches to prosocial
motivation
Theorists disagree: are any prosocial acts purely
altruistic?; some argue that we "always" get something for ourselves
out of helping (egoism idea)
What exactly is a prosocial
action?
voluntary behavior enacted to provide benefit for
another
What exactly is an altruistic
action?
a form of helping in which the helper's goal is to
enhance the other's welfare with no expectation of benefit in
return
What do we mean by egoism?
we help someone, with the ultimate intent of
increasing our own benefit
Difficult controversy; hard to empirically
test
Effect of positive vs. negative mood on
helping (sheds some light on controversy)
Positive mood
If the need for help is clear and if helping doesn't
involve negative consequences, then positive emotion leads to
prosocial behavior
If need is ambiguous and/or negative consequences may occur,
positive emotions inhibit helping
Why? Might ruin your good mood!
Negative mood
Common belief is that persons in negative mood are
unlikely to help, but:
if helping itself promises to make person feel good, negative
emotion can actually increase helping
This occurs only if:
negative feelings are not too intense,
the emergency is obvious, and
the act of helping is interesting and fun rather than
difficult and unpleasant
So, there's some egoism involved in helping
But, controversy still persists
Think about in terms of escaping negative mood
Four alternative proposals for motives
underlying prosocial behavior
Empathy-altruism hypothesis (Batson et
al.)
Empathy is aroused, and person helps simply because
other needs help and it feels good to provide help
limits:
• not everyone is high in empathic concern
• egoistic/selfish motives also play a role in
helping
Negative state relief model (Cialdini et
al.)
Negative emotions are aroused by the situation or are
already present, and person helps to make him/herself feel better
(lots of egotism here)
limits:
see controversy in book (pp. 256-257)
Empathic joy hypothesis (Smith et al.)
Empathy leads to helping because helper anticipates
feeling good about accomplishing something (some egotism
here)
Genetic determinism model (Rushton)
We have unconscious desire to help others genetically
similar to ourselves to maximize the chances of survival of genes
that are like ours
This is basically the sociobiological attempt to explain how
the trait of altruism would assist in enhancing species
survival
Idea of kin selection: we will
"help" those who are genetically related to us because it
increases our chances of passing on our genes
Idea of reciprocal altruism: we
even help those who are not our "blood relatives" (but member of
species) since this enhances chances of specie's genes being
carried on
Interesting question: Who would you help first out of a
burning building? (friend, grandmother, cousin, daughter,
daughter's best friend) Why?
See my Psy 1010 lecture on Evolution (especially the
links)
Interesting evidence: Monozygotic twins more similar in
helpful tendencies than dizygotics (genetic basis)
Social Norms
Norms of behavior prescribe how we should behave (and proscribe
how we should not)
Norm of reciprocity:
Give and take alike. We should pay back what we have received (and
vice versa)
Norm of social responsibility: We
should help others in need or who are dependent
Norm of social justice: We should
help others who deserve our assistance
Personal or self norms: We have
an obligation to help certain others in certain situations (e.g.,
pregnant women)
There are cultural differences in which of these norms seem
operative.
Indian cultures: social responsibility
American: more individualistic
Dispositional characteristics of
helpers
Empathy: Most research on apparently
altruistic behavior has focused on empathy:
the tendency to respond to another's emotional state
with a vicarious emotional reaction that resembles the emotions of
the other
Children as young as 12 mos. feel distress at the
distress of others
Humans differ widely in their level of empathy
Some identify an altruistic personality
composed of:
empathy
belief in a just world
social responsibility
internal locus of control
low egocentrism
Role of Social Models in Producing Helping
Observation of helpful role models (real or on TV) appears to
create a social norm of helping (IF they are chosen to be
observed!)
leads to an increase in helping
Rewarding prosocial behavior
leads to an increase in helping
Characteristics of victims likely to
receive help
• We are more likely to help victims whom we like,
including those
to whom we perceive ourselves as similar
who are not seen as responsible for their plight
• We may be more willing to help members of opposite
gender (still needs more research)
• Attributions of responsibility for the victim's plight is
important factor.
Interacts in complex way with our similarity to the
victim. Example:
On one hand: Women do not blame female rape
victims for being raped. This would suggest that women would
try to "help" female rape victims feel better (since they are
similar -- women)
On other hand: perceiving victim as like you may lead to
awareness of your own vulnerability
you may distance yourself from feeling
vulnerable by blaming the victim (reducing your tendency to
help)
Prosocial acts from the point of view of
the person needing help
People are often reluctant to ask for help because of concern
that others will view their need as a sign of incompetence
We're particularly reluctant to ask for help from
those most similar to us
How does it feel to receive help?
Self esteem often suffers when you receive help,
especially if helper is someone similar to you
© Copyright 2004 Tamara J Ferguson
Send e-mail comments regarding this site to: fatamara@cc.usu.edu
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