SOCPSY 1Z03 Chapter Notes - Chapter 10-11: Prosocial Behavior, Helping Behavior, Normative Social Influence

• School: McMaster University
• Department: Social Psychology
• Course: SOCPSY 1Z03
• Professor: Jeff Racine

Document Summary

Helping is a prosocial behavior that has the consequence of providing some benefit to or improving the well being of another person. One view of human nature regards us all as fundamentally selfish beings, concerned primarily with our own gratification. Helping behavior motivated by self-gratification is called egoism. The term empathy refers to the vicarious experience of an emotion that is congruent with or possibly identical to the emotion that another person is experiencing. Empathy-altruism model proposes that adults can experience distinct states of emotional arousal while witnessing another"s suffering: distress and empathy. These states give rise to different motivations, but can lead to helping behaviour. A third view takes an evolutionary perspective. The basic notion driving this theory is that any genetically determined physical attribute or trait that helps an individual survive will be passed on to the next. Characteristics of the needy that foster helping consist of acquaintanceship and liking, similarity, deservingness.