Exam 9: Prosocial Behaviour: Doing Whats Best for Others

In the 'trust game,' participants generally ____.

Many people who hold prejudiced attitudes towards ethnic minority groups attempt to justify their prejudices by suggesting that group competition for jobs, housing, healthcare, and other social resources is a(n) ____.For example, they claim: 'The more jobs that other groups get, the fewer good jobs there will be left for people from my group.'

The idea that empathy motivates people to reduce others' distress is known as the ________________.

In his classic research on obedience to authority, Milgram found that roughly ____ of participants eventually 'went all the way' and administered the highest levels of shocks.Interestingly, a group of psychiatrists surveyed prior to the study estimated that ____ would do so.

When confronted with moral dilemmas, most people rely on moral ____.

In one well-known study on empathy, participants had to watch a confederate ('Elaine') receive electric shocks.They were told either that they had to watch 10 full trials of shocks, or that they could leave after watching the first two trials only.They were also told that their values and interests were similar to those of the confederate (similar group), or that their values and interests were different from those of the confederate (dissimilar group).After the first two trials had been completed, participants were asked whether they would switch places with the confederate - she was apparently very upset by the shocks due to a negative childhood experience with electricity.The researchers found that, in the similar group, ____ agreed to switch places.

As discussed in the text, when people encounter situations in which their help might be needed, there are five major steps they pass through before ultimately deciding to render help (or not render help).At which step(s) can the presence of others interfere (and reduce the likelihood of helping)?

When two people play the prisoner's dilemma game against one another, they tend to end up competing ____.

Suppose that, one day, a fierce and crazy lion broke loose from the zoo.Instead of running around wildly, however, the lion calmed himself down rather quickly, walked through the crowds at the zoo, exited the facility, and made his way to a local park; here he stretched out to do some child-watching.People in the park were confused by the sudden presence of the lion.They thought to themselves: 'Isn't that a lion?' 'Um, is it really dangerous to have a lion right here?' However, none of them voiced their concerns, and as a result there was no communication about the lion; the park-goers ultimately assumed that there was a reason for the lion to be there ('Otherwise,' they thought, 'someone would have said something').And the lion ended up staying at the park for several hours.In this example, ____ was MOST at play.

As discussed in the text, the sociologist Phil Kunz once performed a study in which he sent 578 Christmas cards to a sample of complete strangers living in Chicago, Illinois.He received a total of 117 cards in return, as well as several phone calls - despite the fact that he did not know any of these people.Kunz's findings provide good evidence of ____.

Suppose that you are working with a group of monkeys, and you give some monkeys a small reward (a cucumber) for performing a given task, while you give other monkeys a bigger and better reward (a banana) for performing the exact same task.Research suggests that the monkeys ____ compare their rewards, and that, as a result, ____.

Research demonstrates that people are more likely to engage in kin selection ____.

In evolutionary theory, the tendency for people to help others who share their genes is known as ________________.

Altruistic helping is motivated by ____ and the end goal is to ____.

If a society has law, regardless of how well they are obeyed, it is said to be under the rule of law.

Social psychologists distinguish between two types of helping, which are defined by different motives: ____.

Research shows that playing violent video games tends to ____.

The first step to helping behaviour is overcoming pluralistic ignorance.

According to evolutionary theory on kin selection, monozygotic (identical) twins should help one another more than dizygotic (fraternal) twins.

Some evidence suggests that empathy levels are ____ in college students.