Psychology 2070A/B Chapter 12: chapter #12 - helping others.docx

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 2070A/B
• Professor: James M Olson

Document Summary

Empathy reduces the likelihood of aggressive behaviour as well as increasing the likelihood that an individual will be helpful towards that person. So someone needs help observer feels empathy observer feels personal distress. See that elaine is very distressed by shocks and learn that she was thrown onto an electric fence by a horse as a child experimenter says that the observer could trade places. High empathy condition = elaine and participant were very similar in attitudes and values. Low empathy condition = elaine and participant were very diff in their attitudes and values. Easy escape = if they did not want to trade they could leave and not watch remaining shocks. Hard escape = if they did not want to trade they had to stay and watch the remaining shocks. Both high empathy conditions (altruistic motivation)more than 80% were willing to trade places with elaine irrespective of how easy it was for them to escape.