Exam 9: Prosocial Behavior: Doing What’s Best for Others

Suppose that Eli has a strong belief in a just world, and that he is just like other people who have a strong belief in a just world. How should we expect him to respond when he is asked what he thinks about a new social welfare program to benefit the elderly?

Research on forgiveness in relationships indicates that ____.

In one well-known study of helping behavior, researchers examined helping among a sample of theology students. The students were either (a) under time pressure or not put under time pressure and (b) expecting to give a speech about the parable of the (very helpful) Good Samaritan or expecting to give a speech about something else. Which students turned out to be the most helpful?

Jose sometimes feels that he is a "taker" rather than a "giver"-that he is not contributing his fair share at work or in relationships. Research suggests that, as a result, Jose is likely to

Based on Vohs et al.'s (2006) findings, wealthy people are ____.

Both pluralistic ignorance and diffusion of responsibility contribute to ____.

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)?

Identify and briefly describe the five steps (discussed in the textbook) that people pass through in determining whether and how to render help in an emergency situation. Also identify the key obstacles (things that might prevent people from providing needed help) at each stage.

If you are concerned that you are getting less than you deserve, then social psychologists would say that you are worried about ____, if you are concerned that you are getting more than you deserve then social psychologists would say that you are worried about ____.

According to the empathy-altruism hypothesis, ____.

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?

Conformity is more likely in larger groups than in smaller groups.

Compared to young chimpanzees, human toddlers are ___.

Conformity to social norms is likely to be highest when ____.

Even though there are certain codes of behavior (both legal and moral) that people are supposed to follow during wartime, it is often the case that these codes are horrifically ignored or broken (e.g., there are lootings, mass rapes, killings of babies and children, etc.). In other words, it seems as though once certain rules and laws are broken (once people are even in war), ____ can become completely unraveled very easily.

As discussed in the text, social psychologists who study altruism have found that people who are altruistic tend to ____ compared to people who are not altruistic.

A series of studies conducted in restaurants indicates that when people dine in groups, they tend to order ____. This finding can be explained by the fact that ____.

According to evolutionary theory, kin selection is most adaptive in terms of ____.

People who live in New York City have a reputation for being rough and tough; there are stories of people who have fallen and hurt themselves on major city streets simply being stepped over by passerby. While it may well be the case that New Yorkers are less sensitive to others' needs than non-city dwellers, it could also be that they are more prone to engage in ____________________ when someone has fallen down on the street. For example, passersby may well assume that their help is not needed, as someone else may well have already called for help or be calling for help very soon.

In social psychology, the story of Kitty Genovese's murder has been closely linked with the study of ____.