Prosocial Behaviour

Question 1

what is one of the exemplary cases that we mention when talking about bystander effect?

Answer 1

Kitty Genovese
- killed outside her apartment
- witnessed by 38 ppl but no one helped

Question 2

latane and darley 1968

Answer 2

Smoky room study
An experimental room slowly filled with smoke
Either with 1 person or with 3 people
In the 1 person condition, 75% of people came out for help within 6 minutes
Whereas in the 3 person condition, 38% came out for help

Question 3

what is the bystander effect?

Answer 3

More people witnessing an emergency leads to a lower % of help and a longer delay for the help

Question 4

what is an important aspect of bystander effect?

Answer 4

that we can see how other people react

Question 5

in bystander effect…
what happens when we can see people?
what happens when we cant see people?

Answer 5

• pluralistic ignorance
• diffusion of responsability

Question 6

what is pluralistic ignorance?

Answer 6

people conforming to what they (wrongly) believe to be others’ unconcerned reactions in ambigious situations

Question 7

what happens under pluralistic ignorance?
(connect to norms)

Answer 7

everyone assumes that other people are unconcerned due to blank expressions so they don’t react either
–> follow a norm that doesn’t actually exist

Question 8

diffusion of responsibility

Answer 8

assuming someone else will take care of the problem
–> Kitty G case

Question 9

who developed the bystander intervention decision tree? what is it?

Answer 9

latane and darley, 1973
–> framework for whether/how people will provide help in an emergency

Question 10

5 key steps in the bystander intervention decision tree

Answer 10

1. notice that something is going on
2. interpret that event as an emergency
3. assume personal responsibility
4. know what to do
5. decide to help

Question 11

step 1: notice that something is going on

Answer 11

• pick up on subtle factors that dictate whether we consider the situation to be urgent
• being rushed or in a hurry can make you less likely to notice an emergency

Question 12

step 2: interpret that event as an emergency

Answer 12

• here is where ambiguity of the situation plays a big role
• urgency might get lost if there are a lot of bystanders due to pluralistic ignorance

Question 13

step 3: assume personal responsibility

Answer 13

• here is where diffusion of responsability kicks in
• the more bystanders, the less likely we’re going to assume responsibility

Question 14

step 4: know what to do

Answer 14

• evaluating whether you have the necessary expertise
• but can be as simple as calling 911

Question 15

step 5: decide to help

Answer 15

• weigh the costs and benefits
• decide if helping is the best response
• can we actually help? is it our responsibility?
  –> here is where fear of embarrassment comes in :(

Question 16

practical application

Answer 16

if you’ve already decided to help and are currently doing so but need another person,
–> IDENTIFY that need in a clear way
–> IDENTIFY a specific helper
to cut through the diffusion of responsibility principle
–> give specific instructions

Question 17

who conducted the good Samaritan study?

Answer 17

darley and batson in 1973

Question 18

how did darley and batson present an ambigious situation?

Answer 18

showed a man slumped in a doorway

Question 18

procedure good Samaritan study

Answer 18

Recruited seminary students ie very prosocial people
Asked half to deliver a parable on the good samaritan, the bible story about the importance of helping strangers
And manipulated how much of a hurry the participants were in to get to the other building (Low “It’ll be a few mins” // Med “The assistant is ready, go over” // High “they were expecting you a couple of minutes ago, hurry”)

Question 19

what were the results of the good samaritan study?

Answer 19

Found that when people weren’t in a rush, about 60% of people stopped to help
But when they were in the med condition, this dropped to about 45%
And dropped down to 10% of people helping when they were very rushed
Even tho they were literally giving lectures on helping strangers