Deck 10: Helping Others

Question 1

Jeffrey jumps into the water after his sister to save her from drowning.According to evolutionary theory,which of the following is Jeffrey's helping behaviour is best attributed to?

A) his emotional bond to his sister
B) his altruistic personality
C) reciprocal altruism
D) kinship selection

Answer 1

kinship selection

Question 2

Justin is an 18-month-old toddler who sees an adult who drops her keys while carrying a big box and trying to unlock a door.What is Justin likely to do?

A) Justin will not help unless asked for assistance.
B) If asked for assistance,Justin will help by answering the adult's simple questions.
C) Justin will pick up the keys and hand them to the adult.
D) If asked for assistance,Justin will pick up the keys but will only hand them to the adult when specifically told to do so.

Answer 2

Justin will pick up the keys and hand them to the adult.

Question 3

Muriel,who generally has high self-esteem,learns that she failed her psychology exam.When her roommate asks Muriel for a ride to the airport,which of the following is most likely?

A) Muriel will be more likely to help.
B) Muriel will be less likely to help.
C) Muriel will focus more on the costs of helping rather than the rewards.
D) Muriel will be more concerned with the potential for reciprocity.

Answer 3

Muriel will be more likely to help.

Question 4

Which of the following acts is most readily explained from an evolutionary perspective?

A) group members helping a group member with a developmental disability
B) people helping their siblings
C) people helping an injured animal
D) people helping a stranger

Question 5

When does the consideration of rewards and costs influence whether or not an individual decides to help?

A) when people have the time to make a careful deliberate decision about whether to help
B) when people are faced with emergency situations in which they must make a quick decision about whether to help
C) when people are deciding about whether or not they should help a stranger
D) when people are deciding about whether or not they should help

Question 6

Arianna notices that her neighbours' house is on fire.According to the arousal: cost-reward model,what should her initial reaction be?

A) feelings of personal distress
B) feelings of empathic concern
C) a consideration of the rewards of helping
D) a consideration of the costs of helping

Question 7

Which of the following assumptions is the principle of kinship selection is based on?

A) Although it is sometimes beneficial to help our kin,we must focus primarily on helping ourselves if we are to survive.
B) It is the survival of genes that matters most in evolution.
C) We will help those who are likely to reciprocate that help,regardless of whether or not they are genetically related.
D) Those who have the greatest reproductive fitness share more genes with their kin.

Question 8

In a research study,participants read about Bryan Banks who was running late to class and was hit by a car.What effect did the instructions to imagine how Bryan feels have on their willingness to help?

A) They were more likely to help than students asked to be objective.
B) They were less likely to help than students asked to imagine how the accident could have been avoided.
C) They were more likely to help when they saw Bryan in a positive light.
D) The instructions did not influence people's willingness to help in this case.

Question 9

According to the evolutionary principle of kinship selection,who are we most likely to help?

A) someone who is a potential mate
B) someone who is likely to return the favour
C) someone who is physically attractive
D) someone who is genetically similar to us

Question 10

According to research by Rilling et al.(2003),what kind of behaviour is linked to activation of the brain in areas associated with processing rewards?

A) selfish behaviour
B) dangerous behaviour
C) evolutionarily adaptive behaviour
D) mutually cooperative behaviour

Question 11

Stewart-Williams (2007)found that McMaster students indicated a greater willingness to help relatives rather than friends and acquaintances.Which of the following is this finding most consistent with?

A) kinship selection
B) the bystander effect
C) pluralistic ignorance
D) the negative-state relief model

Question 12

Which of the following is most consistent with the idea that people respond to emergency situations by acting to reduce their personal distress in the most cost-effective way?

A) the negative state relief model
B) the attribution-affect-action model
C) the norm of social responsibility
D) the arousal: cost-reward model

Question 13

Justin is an 18 month old toddler who sees an adult throw her keys to the floor and walk away.How is Justin likely to respond?

A) Justin will respond by leaving the keys on the floor.
B) Justin will respond by picking up the keys and throwing them to the floor.
C) Justin will respond by picking up the keys and handing them to the adult.
D) Justin will respond by avoiding the adult.

Question 14

When is helping behaviour adaptive from an evolutionary perspective?

A) when it contributes to the survival of the fittest individual
B) when the economic rewards of helping are greater than the costs
C) when it helps to secure propagation of an individual's genes
D) when it is performed for altruistic rather than egoistic motives

Question 15

Which of the following would be most consistent with the proposition that individuals can enhance their reproductive success by protecting their group's interests in relation to other groups?

A) The government of one country sends relief aid to another country with the expectation that this action will be reciprocated.
B) A young woman stops to help an elderly man change a flat tire.
C) A teaching assistant agrees to help kids from his hometown study for an exam,but claims not to have the time when other students ask for help.
D) The members of the Friday night bowling league spend several weeks each year collecting clothing,food,and toys for underprivileged children.

Question 16

Which of the following ideas do file-sharing websites depend on?

A) reciprocal altruism
B) kinship selection
C) audience inhibition
D) the arousal: cost-reward model

Question 17

What does Sober and Wilson's (1998)notion of group selection propose?

A) Helping may be based on social connections rather than genetic relatedness.
B) Helping occurs when the rewards of helping are equal to the costs of not helping.
C) As the size of a group increases,helping behaviours decrease.
D) Groups are more likely to invoke reciprocal altruism than are individuals.

Question 18

Why are individuals who are feeling guilty or whose high self-esteem has been threatened likely to help?

A) because such emotional states tend to activate reciprocity norms
B) because it helps them to feel good about themselves
C) because bystander calculus becomes too cognitively demanding
D) because it helps them to reduce stimulus overload

Question 19

Ferdinand helps Wendy because he hopes that she will help him when he needs it.Which of the following is the basis for Ferdinand's thinking?

A) kinship selection
B) reciprocal altruism
C) empathic concern
D) moral hypocrisy

Question 20

Which of the following is consistent with the predictions of evolutionary psychology and kinship selection?

A) Children indicate a greater willingness to help a friend as compared to a sibling.
B) Adults indicate a greater willingness to help healthy relatives than those in poor health.
C) Adults indicate a greater willingness to help older as compared to younger relatives.
D) Adults indicate a greater willingness to help cousins as compared to siblings.

Question 21

According to the empathy-altruism model of helping,what motivates helping?

A) the motivation for self-enhancement
B) the desire to receive praise
C) the expectation that helping will produce empathic joy
D) the belief that helping will reduce the other's distress

Question 22

As the apartment building became engulfed by flames,Candy ran back in to save the children trapped inside,even though doing so led her to suffer severe burns of her own.What does Candy's behaviour illustrate?

A) reciprocal altruism
B) overhelping
C) courageous resistance
D) pluralistic ignorance

Question 23

What do psychologists call sustained and deliberate helping in the face of high costs?

A) reciprocal altruism
B) overhelping
C) courageous resistance
D) pluralistic ignorance

Question 24

The empathy-altruism hypothesis maintains that,regardless of how easy it is to escape from a situation,people will help someone else in which of the following situations?

A) if their motives are altruistic
B) if their motives are simplistic
C) if their motives are idiosyncratic
D) if their motives are egoistic

Question 25

Some Good Samaritan laws offer legal protection to bystanders who help in an emergency.How are these laws intended to increase helping?

A) by lowering the costs of helping
B) by raising the costs of helping
C) by lowering the costs of NOT helping
D) by raising the costs of NOT helping

Question 26

According to the empathy-altruism hypothesis,which of the following is the primary cause of altruistic behaviour?

A) taking another's perspective
B) rewards and costs
C) personal distress
D) evolution

Question 27

Which of the following would be most consistent with the negative state relief model?

A) Shoppers who are given a free gift are more likely to donate money to a solicitor as they leave the store.
B) Students who feel guilty about falling asleep in class volunteer to help a professor by completing a questionnaire.
C) Professional athletes are more likely to sign autographs for fans following a win than following a loss.
D) Depressed individuals are less likely to help in an emergency than non-depressed individuals.

Question 28

What do psychologists call the cognitive component of empathy that involves seeing the world through someone else's eyes?

A) anxious introspection
B) personal distress
C) perspective taking
D) empathic concern

Question 29

What has research on the empathy-altruism model demonstrated about the helping behaviour of individuals who are high in empathic concern?

A) They will offer help when escape from the situation is difficult,but not when escape is easy.
B) They will offer help if they can easily escape from the situation,but not if escape is difficult.
C) They will offer help regardless of the extent of danger.
D) They will offer help regardless of the ease of escape from a situation.

Question 30

Which of the following does the primary distinction between altruistic and egoistic helping concern?

A) the motivations of the helper
B) the ratio of rewards to costs
C) the number of bystanders present
D) the mood of the helper

Question 31

Liam is in a bad mood because he failed to get the promotion he was hoping for at work.When he gets home,his roommate Charlie asks for a ride to the grocery store.Liam willingly agrees to this favour.Which of the following concepts explains why Liam is particularly likely to help his roommate now that he is feeling bad?

A) the empathy-altruism hypothesis
B) the norm of social responsibility
C) the negative state relief model
D) the theory of self-esteem threat

Question 32

When Jo witnessed a serious plane crash,she felt compassion,sympathy,and tenderness for the victims.What do her feelings show?

A) anxious introspection
B) perspective taking
C) personal distress
D) empathic concern

Question 33

Grissel volunteers her time to escort patients at an abortion clinic because she is truly concerned for their safety.Which of the following best characterizes Grissel's behaviour?

A) altruistic
B) egoistic
C) democratic
D) realistic

Question 34

Giles volunteers his time to his local community centre because he thinks it will look good on his university applications.Which of the following best characterizes Giles behaviour?

A) democratic
B) egoistic
C) altruistic
D) realistic

Question 35

When Christine sees how upset Jim is about his father's death,she too becomes upset.As a result,she goes out of her way to console Jim.Which of the following is most consistent with Christine's actions?

A) the empathy-altruism hypothesis
B) the mood maintenance model
C) the norm of reciprocity
D) the threat to self-esteem model

Question 36

Some Good Samaritan laws require people to provide or summon help in an emergency.How are they intended to increase helping?

A) by lowering the costs of helping
B) by raising the costs of helping
C) by lowering the costs of NOT helping
D) by raising the costs of NOT helping

Question 37

When Spencer sees the victims of a school shooting on television,he is shocked and distressed.What aspect of empathy does Spencer's reaction illustrate?

A) personal distress
B) empathic concern
C) perspective taking
D) empathic reaction

Question 38

How does empathic concern differ from personal distress?

A) Empathic concern is more likely in emergency situations.
B) Empathic concern does not directly impact helping behaviour.
C) Empathic concern is more cognitive in nature.
D) Empathic concern is other-oriented rather than self-oriented.

Question 39

Kirk passes a homeless person on the street.In which of the following cases is Kirk most likely to help this person?

A) if the costs of NOT helping are small and Kirk will gain nothing from helping
B) if the costs of NOT helping are small and Kirk will feel better about himself by helping
C) if the costs of helping are large and Kirk will feel better about himself by helping
D) if the costs of helping are small and Kirk will feel better about himself by helping

Question 40

Which of the following is a limitation of the empathy-altruism hypothesis?

A) Egoistic motives are not the most important motives for helping.
B) It fails to consider situational factors that influence the helping behaviour of those with egoistic motives.
C) It combines egoistic and altruistic motives,thus assuming concern for both self and other.
D) Personal distress does not always result in helping behaviour.

Question 41

What is the bystander effect?

A) the tendency for a greater number of bystanders to increase the probability that a victim will receive help
B) the tendency for a greater number of bystanders to reduce the probability that a victim will receive help
C) the tendency for bystander helping to be motivated more by egoistic concerns than altruistic ones
D) the tendency for bystander helping to be motivated more by altruistic concerns than egoistic ones

Question 42

Dewanto hears what sounds like gunshots coming from the school parking lot.None of his classmates appear concerned,so Dewanto assumes that they know the sound was only a car backfiring or someone playing with firecrackers.What do Dewanto's beliefs illustrate?

A) diffusion of responsibility
B) empathic concern
C) audience inhibition
D) pluralistic ignorance

Question 43

Which of the following accurately lists the order of steps to helping proposed by Latané and Darley (1970)?

A) notice the event,decide how to help,interpret the event as an emergency,take responsibility,
B) notice the event,take responsibility,interpret the event as an emergency,decide how to help
C) notice the event,interpret the event as an emergency,take responsibility,decide how to help
D) notice the event,decide how to help,take responsibility,interpret the event as an emergency,

Question 44

Which of the following obstacles to helping behaviour is best described as preventing people who notice an event from interpreting it as an emergency?

A) diffusion of responsibility
B) pluralistic ignorance
C) stimulus overload
D) audience inhibition

Question 45

What do psychologists call the belief that one's own thoughts and feelings differ from those of others,even though everyone is behaving in the same way?

A) stimulus overload
B) pluralistic ignorance
C) courageous resistance
D) diffusion of responsibility

Question 46

Benny has a heart attack while riding a crowded city bus,and nobody on the bus attempts to help him.Which of the following does this case exemplify?

A) the bystander effect
B) the good mood effect
C) moral hypocrisy
D) the norm of social responsibility

Question 47

Ervin was in the middle of a bustling crowd when an injured woman fell down.Which of the following is the most likely reason Ervin might NOT have helped the woman?

A) He was embarrassed by the situation.
B) He was distracted by the crowd.
C) He was aroused by the commotion.
D) He was frightened by the crowd's anonymity.

Question 48

Consider Latané and Darley's (1970)five step model of helping.At which step does analysis of costs and rewards occur?

A) noticing the event
B) interpreting the event as an emergency
C) taking responsibility to help
D) providing help

Question 49

What effect does motivation have on helping behaviours?

A) People who volunteered due to empathic concern and personal distress volunteered for altruistic reasons.
B) People who volunteered due to perspective taking volunteered for egoistic reasons.
C) People who volunteered for altruistic reasons helped for longer periods of time than those who volunteered for egoistic reasons.
D) People who volunteered for egoistic reasons helped for longer periods of time than those who volunteered for altruistic reasons.

Question 50

Which of the following factors will lead to greater helping in an emergency situation?

A) A large group of bystanders witnesses the emergency.
B) The emergency occurs in a busy environment.
C) The emergency involves two people who are clearly related.
D) The situation is clearly an emergency.

Question 51

Which of the following situational changes would have made it more likely that someone would have acted to help Kitty Genovese during her attack?

A) if more of her neighbours had been at home
B) if there had been more witnesses to the event
C) if people had telephones readily available
D) if some of the witnesses had just heard a lecture on the situational influences on helping behaviour

Question 52

Asuni hears her neighbour's burglar alarm go off in the middle of the night,but she doesn't call the police because she assumes that one of the other neighbours will do so.What does Asuni's failure act illustrate?

A) the empathy-altruism hypothesis
B) moral hypocrisy
C) diffusion of responsibility
D) bystander calculus

Question 53

In which of the following cases can diffusion of responsibility most likely be reduced?

A) if a bystander's training is relevant to the emergency at hand
B) if there are many bystanders
C) if the bystanders do not know each other
D) if the bystanders do not know the victim

Question 54

During his statistics class this morning,Stuart was completely confused.He considered asking questions during the lecture,but because nobody else asked questions,he assumed they understood the material.Which of the following is the most likely cause of Stuart's failure to ask questions?

A) diffusion of responsibility
B) empathic concern
C) pluralistic ignorance
D) moral hypocrisy

Question 55

Sandhya has missed class because she is sick,but Luis did attend the lecture.Sandhya asks Luis if she can borrow his notes.If Luis considers that Sandhya has shared her notes in the past and decides to offer help,what is he most likely doing?

A) invoking the norm of reciprocal altruism
B) operating under an altruistic motive
C) operating under an egoistic motive
D) following the negative state relief model

Question 56

Bystanders sometimes do not offer help in an emergency situation because they are concerned about what others will think of them.What do psychologists call this phenomenon?

A) diffusion of responsibility
B) stimulus overload
C) pluralistic ignorance
D) audience inhibition

Question 57

According to research by Garcia and colleagues (2002),how does imagining you are in a group with other people affect your tendency to help others?

A) It makes you more likely to engage in helping behaviour.
B) It makes you less likely to engage in helping behaviour.
C) It only influences altruistic helping behaviour.
D) It does not affect helping behaviour.

Question 58

Ginny thinks she hears her upstairs neighbours having a violent argument where the husband is beating his wife.However,she does not call the police because she is afraid that her neighbours will start to avoid her if she is wrong.What does Ginny's failure to act exemplify?

A) personalism
B) audience inhibition
C) empathic concern
D) pluralistic ignorance

Question 59

Which of the following would be the most effective way for a person to secure help in an emergency situation?

A) making a very loud general plea for help
B) asking a specific individual for help
C) requesting help from those who are more psychologically distant from the situation
D) appearing to have the situation entirely under control

Question 60

Sandhya has missed class because she is sick,but Luis did attend the lecture.Sandhya asks Luis if she can borrow his notes.If Luis considers Sandhya's situation from her point of view and decides to offer help,what is he most likely doing?

A) invoking the norm of reciprocal altruism
B) operating under an altruistic motive
C) operating under an egoistic motive
D) following the negative state relief model

Question 61

Which of the following explains why people in urban areas help less than those in rural areas?

A) Stimulus overload is less likely in urban areas than in rural areas.
B) Residents of urban areas represent more diverse populations than those in rural areas.
C) Urban residents tend to be wealthier than rural residents.
D) People feel more important in urban areas than rural areas.

Question 62

In which of the following situations are people are least likely to notice an emergency?

A) if they display empathic concern for others
B) if they are aware of their surroundings
C) if they are in a good mood
D) if they are under time pressure

Question 63

Carlos is in a terrible mood after an argument with his wife and is taking a walk to calm down.In which of the following cases is he most likely to help by giving money to a homeless person?

A) if he is thinking that he should be nicer to avoid fighting with his wife
B) if he is blaming his wife for his bad mood
C) if he is thinking that he needs to stand up for his own needs more often
D) if he is thinking about how upset he is

Question 64

In the process of moving,Igor has to drive across the country in his old car,which he is afraid will break down along the way.If he is concerned about receiving help,which of the following should he do?

A) go through as many rural areas as possible
B) go through as many urban areas as possible
C) go through as many crowded areas as possible
D) go through as many scenic areas as possible

Question 65

Which of the following types of people is the good mood effect most likely to influence?

A) people who help for empathic rather than egoistic reasons
B) people who help for egoistic rather than empathic reasons
C) adults and young children
D) women

Question 66

Why do helpful models increase prosocial behaviour?

A) because helpful models provide an example of risk assessment behaviours
B) because helpful models demonstrate that being helpful can be self-motivated
C) because helpful models make social norms governing helping salient
D) because helpful models make perspective taking more likely to occur

Question 67

As she is about to walk into the grocery store,Melissa sees a woman struggling with her groceries.In which of the following cases is Melissa most likely to help this woman?

A) if the woman is a complete stranger
B) if the store is located in an urban environment
C) if Melissa only has a few minutes to make her purchase,and get to work on time
D) if Melissa feels guilty about parking in the handicapped space

Question 68

When city dwellers are overwhelmed by all the commotion around them,what are they most likely experiencing?

A) reactance
B) alienation
C) urban flight
D) stimulus overload

Question 69

When are negative moods most likely to enhance helping behaviour?

A) when helping is retaliatory
B) when responsibility for the negative mood is placed elsewhere
C) when helping values are salient
D) when helping is thought to repair mood

Question 70

Why does feeling good lead to increased helping behaviour?

A) because people want to stay in a good mood
B) because people in a good mood have a higher level of mental arousal
C) because people in a good mood are more likely to avoid pluralistic ignorance and notice an individual in need of help
D) because there is a positive correlation between good mood and an altruistic personality

Question 71

Suppose Barbara is feeling sad and she sees Mort struggling to move a piece of furniture.In which of the following cases would Barbara be most likely to help Mort?

A) if Barbara felt personally responsible for her bad mood
B) if Barbara and Mort were young children
C) if Barbara was self-focused on her own concerns
D) if Barbara blamed someone else for her bad mood

Question 72

Having struggled with panhandlers on the subway,hassles at the office,and telephone calls at dinner,Allison retreats to her bedroom rather than noticing that her daughter needs help with a homework assignment.Which of the following is Allison most likely reacting to?

A) social norms
B) bystander calculus
C) stimulus overload
D) reactance

Question 73

According to the research of Darley and Batson (1973),which of the following best predicted the helping behaviour of seminary students?

A) how religious they were
B) the type of speech they were about to give
C) how much time they had
D) the sex of the person being helped

Question 74

Annie is moving to a city where the cost of living is extremely high.Relative to a city where the cost of living is extremely low,which of the following can Annie expect?

A) She can expect much more help.
B) She can expect somewhat more help.
C) She can expect less help.
D) She can expect the same amount of help.

Question 75

In which of the following cases are people in negative moods least likely to help?

A) if they feel guilty because they harmed another person
B) if they want relief from their feelings of sadness
C) if they take responsibility for their bad mood
D) if they become self-focused

Question 76

What do we call the general rules of conduct reflecting standards of behaviour within a society?

A) administrative rules
B) personal standards
C) social norms
D) societal taboos

Question 77

How do situational factors influence helping?

A) The greater the overall population,the more likely people are to help.
B) The higher the cost of living,the more likely people are to help.
C) The greater the population density,the more likely people are to help.
D) The greater the time pressure,the less likely people are to help.

Question 78

Jake spends countless hours in front of the television.Which of the following is most likely?

A) The violence Jake sees on television will be more influential on his behaviour than the prosocial behaviour he sees.
B) The prosocial behaviour Jake sees on television is more likely to be reflected in his behaviour than the violence he sees.
C) The aggressive and prosocial behaviours that Jake sees on television are equally likely to be imitated.
D) Neither the aggressive nor prosocial behaviour that Jake sees on television will have an effect on his behaviour.

Question 79

Fiona needs to get people to fill out her survey.Who is most likely to help?

A) those who live in the city rather than the country
B) those who feel angry
C) those who feel guilty
D) those who are in a hurry

Question 80

While outside enjoying the sunshine,Charlene happily gives directions to a lost tourist.What is the most likely cause of Charlene's willingness to help a stranger?

A) the good mood effect
B) reciprocity norms
C) pluralistic ignorance
D) negative state relief