PSYC 360 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Social Exchange Theory, Normative Social Influence, Evolutionary Psychology
Document Summary
Social exchange: the costs and rewards of helping. Social exchange theory - what we do stems from desire to maximize rewards and minimize costs. In relationships with others, try to maximize the ratio of social rewards to social costs. Helping can be rewarding in a number of ways: the norm of reciprocity - increase likelihood of future help. Investment in future - someone will help us when we need it: relief of bystander distress, gain rewards - social approval, increased feelings of self-worth. The other side is that helping can be costly: physical danger, pain, embarrassment, time. Social exchange theory argues that true altruism does not exist. People help when the benefits outweigh the costs. Empathy and altruism: the pure motive for helping. Empathy - the ability to put oneself in the shoes of another person and to experience events and emotions (e. g. , joy and sadness) the way that person experiences them.
