Exam 11: Prosocial Behavior: Why Do People Help

Evolutionary psychology would have the most trouble explaining which of the following incidents?

You know that Susan is a very helpful person. She spends many hours each week volunteering at a local homeless shelter; she donates a lot of money to charities, and she is always the first person to volunteer to organize something when your group of friends wants to get together. According to the research on the altruistic personality, you __________ that Susan would help carry a neighbor's groceries if the situation arose because __________.

Prosocial behavior is __________.

Every morning at the bus stop, Carlos encounters an old woman begging for change. She is clearly hungry and alone. Because Carlos feels very bad for this woman and can "feel her pain," he makes a point of giving her some change each morning that he sees her. Which theoretical approach best explains Carlos's behavior?

Your text offers several challenges that evolutionary psychology has not been able to address. Which of the following would also challenge evolutionary rationales for helping behavior?

Jonah was driving his car on the road when he saw a man fall through the ice on a nearby pond. He stopped his car and crawled on his stomach on the ice out to the man who had fallen through. He helped save the man from the icy water. This is considered __________.

Researchers tested the hypothesis that rates of helping strangers would be higher in countries that valued simpatía. They staged helping incidents in twenty-three large cities and observed whether or not people helped. These researchers found __________.

One of the major problems with the empathy-altruism hypothesis, which Batson himself admits, is that ___________.

According to Batson (1991), when people experience __________ for another in need, they ________ help.

. Julia, who forgot to return her best friend's library books for her, may feel guilty. When someone is a nickel short of bus fare, Julia __________.

Researchers found that churchgoers were more likely to donate to charity before they attended confession than after, presumably because the act of confession __________.

The idea that natural selection favors behaviors that help a genetic relative is known as ___________.

A(n) __________ is a group with which individuals identify and of which they feel they are members.

Allen volunteers to visit the homes of AIDS patients because those visits help him forget about his own problems. This is an example of __________ behavior.

Which of the following emotions is NOT associated with promoting helping behavior, according to research on feeling bad and doing good?

Julianna likes to contribute to worthy charities because she can help others and, at the same time, get a tax deduction. Julianna is engaging in __________.

Recall that Latané and Darley (1970) had participants complete questionnaires alone, or in the presence of two others. When the experimental room filled with "smoke," participants who were alone reported the potential emergency more quickly than did those who worked on the questionnaire in the company of others. These results provide support for the concept of __________.

According to research by Batson and his colleagues, when empathy is __________, people __________.

Researchers have found support for the urban overload hypothesis. More specifically, they have found that it is more important to know __________ than to know __________.

Recall that Darley and Batson (1973) conducted a study in which participants were provided the opportunity to help when they were on their way to deliver a brief speech on the Good Samaritan or on another topic. These researchers found that __________ because __________.