prosocial behaviour

WELCOME

MOTIVATION FOR

PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR

By, SREEJA GANGADHARAN P

Topics Under Discussion

• Pro-social Behavior• Empathy-Altruism• Negative State Relief• Empathetic Joy• Genetic Determinism

Prosocial Behavior• Prosocial Behavior—helpful action that benefits other people without necessarily providing any direct benefits to the person performing the act, and may even involve a risk for the person who helps

Type of Behavior

Defining Prosocial Behavior

Prosocial Behavior

Benevolence

Pure Altruism

Definition Example

Any action intended to

benefit another

(regardless of motive)

Giving a large tip to a

waiter to impress

your boss with your generosity

Type of Behavior

Prosocial Behavior

Benevolence

Pure Altruism

Definition Example

Benefits another

intentionally for no

external reward

Sending $20 to a charity

to make yourself feel good inside

Type of Behavior

Defining Prosocial Behavior

Prosocial Behavior

Benevolence

Pure Altruism

Definition Example

Benefits another

intentionally for no

external or internal reward

Jumping on a railroad

track to help a stranger who has

fallen

Empathy-Altruism–Empathy-Altruism: It feels good to help

others• Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis (Batson et al., 1981)—prosocial behavior is motivated solely by the desire to help someone in need–People are more likely to help others for whom they feel much empathy.

LANA CROSBIE 9A2 PSYCHOLOGY

The Empathy –Altruism Hypothesis.

• There are two main emotional reactions that occur when we observe someone in distress

• Empathetic Concern- focus upon the other persons needs and motivated to reduce it.

• Personal Distress- Concern with ones own discomfort added with the motivation to reduce it.

She might still be alive today…

Negative-State Relief–Negative-State Relief: Helping makes one feel better•Negative-State Relief Model (Cialdini et al., 1981)—prosocial behavior is motivated by the bystander’s desire to reduce his or her own uncomfortable negative emotions

Empathic Joy–Empathic Joy: Helping as an

accomplishment• Empathic Joy Hypothesis (Smith et al., 1989)—prosocial behavior is motivated by the positive emotion a helper anticipates experiencing as the result of having a beneficial impact on the life of someone in need–Feedback about the impact of the act needs to be given.

Genetic Determinism–Genetic Determinism: Helping as an Adaptive Response•Genetic Determinism Model (Pinker, 1998)—behavior is driven by genetic attributes that evolved because they enhanced the probability of transmitting one’s genes to future generations

–Reciprocal Altruism—cooperative behavior among unrelated individuals that benefits both individuals because when A helps B, B is motivated to reciprocate at some point by helping A, which also benefits the larger group to which both A and B belong

Evolutionary Factors in Helping:

The “Selfish Gene”• What is important is survival of

the individual’s genes, not survival of the fittest individual

• Kinship selection is the tendency to help genetic relatives–Strongest when biological stakes are particularly high

80

60

20

0

High(parents

, siblings, children

)

Cunningham et al. (1995)

Percentage Volunteering

to Help40

Degree of Relatedness

Mod. (grand-parents

)

Low (first

cousins)

None (attractive strangers)

CONCLUSION

• People engage in many prosocial behavior and this behavior is based , in part of selfish and in part on unselfish motives. There are many hypothesis which tries to explain such behavior like Empathy-Altruism,Negative State Relief Empathetic Joy and Genetic Determinism

Keywords• Pro-social Behavior• Empathy-Altruism• Negative State Relief• Empathetic Joy• Genetic Determinism• Inclusive Fitness• Selfish Gene• Benevolance

Reference• Baron R. A, Byrans Combe N.R. (2009). Social

Psychoogy 11th Edison, New Delhi, Prentice Hall.

• Elliot Aronson, Timothy D. Wilson, and Robin M Akert, (2010). Social Psychology, 7th edison, Pearson Publishing.

• Myers D.G (2006). Social Psychology. New Dehi. Tata McGraw Hill Publishing.

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