PSYCH253 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Pluralistic Ignorance, Prosocial Behavior, Normative Social Influence
10 Apr 2014
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May also benefit self and be done for that reason: altruism helping with no personal benefit. Basic motives (why: social-exchange theory helping helps us. Altruism does not exist set: empathy-altruism hypothesis. Based on genuine concern for other" well-being. When we feel empathy for another, will help purely for altruistic reasons, regardless of our gain. Empathy entails taking perspectives of others, thus experiencing events and emotions of others. Helping: empathy & costs participants were told about carol who was in a car accident and had gotten behind in class. Iv #1: empathy: high: take her perspective, low: be objective. Iv #2: cost of not helping: low: won"t see her in class, high: will see her in class. The participants who felt the person"s pain and take her perspective were twice as likely to help as those who were objective. Informational influence: we watch behavior of others to help us define ambiguous situations.
