PSYB10H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Empathic Concern, Hunter-Gatherer, Dictator Game
Document Summary
Altruism: altruism unselfish behavior that benefits others without regard to consequences for oneself- sometimes led to compassion to behave in benefit for others. Empathy vs personal distress how can researchers document that altruistic action can be. Exp participants sit in front of confed and shown confed taking shocks. Anonymous altruism exp participants sat in cubicle across a confed and had 2 notes written by confed shown to them. 2 condition high empathy(asked to feel what confed felt) low condition opened and closed envelope those in high empathy condition volunteered to. Physiological indicators of empathy some kind of selfless state motivates altruistic behavior. Exp showed a videotape of woman and children who had been in an accident to second to see 2 shocks) and difficult (had to see 10 shocks). After 2 shocks, some participants felt egoistic distress and other empathic concern. Those who felt distress took few shocks and escaped.
