Exam 9: Prosocial Behavior: Doing Whats Best for Others

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)?

Suppose that you are walking to work, alone, and you notice a spooky man crawling on the ground alongside a building, holding a gun. He is clearly up to no good. In which of the following cases would you be MOST likely to do something about it (such as call 9-1-1)?

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, ____.

People who forgive others tend to have ____.

Both pluralistic ignorance and diffusion of responsibility contribute to ____.

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

If a workgroup operates under the ________________ norm, then each person in the group will be rewarded in direct proportion to the amount that he or she contributed.

The prisoner's dilemma is best described as a(n)____.

Compared to people in good moods, people in bad moods do not tend to be especially helpful to others. This seems to be the case in particular when their bad mood is focused inward (i.e., when they are thinking about themselves).

Someone who is high on the dimension of belief in a just world would be MOST likely to agree with which statement?

Compared to young chimpanzees, human toddlers are ___.

Briefly discuss gender differences in helping behavior. Are males and females different in terms of their overall levels of empathy, the degree to which they render help to others, or the kinds of situations in which they help?

According to the text, when it comes to helping others, females tend to be more helpful than males

As discussed in the textbook, "spring break sex" (low-commitment sex)often represents a "good deal" for men and a "bad deal" for women. Interestingly, both men and women tend to travel in same-sex packs during spring break. Moreover, ____.

Research shows that playing violent video games tends to ____.

As described in the text, social psychologists have tended to think about obedience as ____, but obedience ____.

Research on the relationship between the time of day and morality suggests that ____.

Who is most likely to be trusted?

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.

Research on helping indicates that once people are educated about phenomena such as the bystander effect, diffusion of responsibility, and pluralistic ignorance, they are less likely to fall prey to them themselves.