Altruism and Helping Behavior
Batson's (2003) 4 Motivations for Prosocial Behavior
- Egoism
- Altruism
- Collectivism
- Principlism
Batson (2003) on Empathy
- Empathy should produce more helping, more
sensitive, & less fickle help
- Empathy should produce less aggression
- Empathy-induced altruism reduces conflict
High empathy increased cooperation in a Prisoner's
Dilemma study
(cont: .30, low: .35, high: .70)
High empathy increased cooperation even when the
other defected first
(cont: .00, low: .10, high: .45)
3 Major Explanations for the Bystander Effect (Lesko, 1991)
- Diffusion of responsibility--responsibility
divided among all bystanders
- Social influence effects--we look to others for information
--Audience--inhibition to avoid looking foolish
Motivations for Volunteerism (Snyder et al., 1993, 1995, 1998, 1999)
- Values: To act on humanitarian values and
concern for others
- Understanding: To learn about people or learn skills
- Social: To be part of a group and gain approval
- Career: To enhance job prospects with experiences and contacts
- Ego Protections: To reduce guilt or escape personal problems
- Esteem Enhancement: To boost self-worth and confidence