PSYCH 104 Lecture Notes - Lecture 32: Psych, Construals, Reduced Affect Display
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Nahas
Psych 104
Social Psychology
LE
Spring 2019
● Socioeconomic Status (SES) Differences
○ Piff et al. (2010) found that people with lower (vs. higher) SES tend to be
more helpful
■ May reflect a greater concern for the needs of others
○ However, priming higher-SES people with stimuli that trigger
compassion can increase their helpfulness
● Cultural Differences
○ In all cultures, people are more likely to help a member of their in-group and
less likely to help a member of an out-group
○ This is particularly pronounced in collectivist (vs. individualist) cultures
■ Lines between “us” and “them” may be more clearly defined
● Mood
○ “Feel good, do good”
■ Isen & Levin’s (1972) dime study (after finding a dime, people were
more likelyto help a confederate who staged dropping their notes)
■ When we’re in a good mood, we tend to look on the bright side of life
(i.e. mood impacts our construals)
■ Helping others prolongs our good mood
■ Being in a good mood increases self-awareness (and this puts us more
in touch with our ‘core-values’ which will make us more generous)
○ “Feel bad, do good”
■ We are also more likely to help if we are feeling guilty, sad, or distressed
■ Negative-state relief hypothesis: People help in order to alleviate
their own sadness and distress
■ But! Not all negative emotions increase in helping behaviour
○ “Feel nothing, don’t bother”