Deck 11: Prosocial Behavior: Why Do People Help

Question 1

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 __________.

A) altruism
B) dissonance reduction
C) hypocrisy
D) prosocial behavior

Answer 1

prosocial behavior

Question 2

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 __________.

A) a selfish act
B) prosocial behavior
C) an altruistic act
D) a power trip

Answer 2

an altruistic act

Question 3

Whereas __________ is any act performed to benefit another, __________ is such an act performed with no regard for one's safety or interests.

A) altruism; prosocial behavior
B) prosocial behavior; self-help
C) prosocial behavior; altruism
D) altruism; self-sacrifice

Answer 3

prosocial behavior; altruism

Question 4

__________ refers to any act that someone performs in order to benefit another person.

A) Prosocial behavior
B) Altruism
C) Kin selection
D) Empathy

Question 5

Recall that the introduction to Chapter 11 (Prosocial Behavior) began with a description of several of the citizen-heroes of September 11, 2001-for example William Wik, who refused to flee to personal safety because there were still people to be rescued. He died when a tower collapsed. Wik was willing to sacrifice his own life to save others, and his behavior could thus best be described as __________.

A) altruistic
B) communal
C) evolutionarily adaptive
D) an example of kin selection

Question 6

Prosocial behavior is to __________ as altruism is to __________.

A) selflessness; pure motive
B) rewards; good mood
C) rewards; selflessness
D) feeling good; avoiding feeling bad

Question 7

According to evolutionary theory (Darwin, 1859), natural selection favors genes that promote __________.

A) attractiveness
B) intelligence
C) survival
D) strength

Question 8

__________ refers to the desire to help another person, even if such help involves cost to the helper.

A) Prosocial behavior
B) Altruism
C) Empathy
D) Reciprocity

Question 9

According to evolutionary theory (Darwin, 1859), genes that lower our chances of survival are __________.

A) less likely to be passed on to the next generation
B) more likely to be passed on to the next generation
C) equally likely to be passed on to the next generation
D) will never be passed on to the next generation

Question 10

Which of the following does NOT represent prosocial behavior?

A) Joanne goes to her job every day to earn her paycheck.
B) Glory tutors a young boy in math at his school.
C) Jeremy purchases groceries and delivers them for his grandma.
D) Jerrika counsels teens who are struggling with stress.

Question 11

Recall that the introduction to Chapter 11 describes several of the citizen-heroes of September 11, 2001. The text identifies these people as __________.

A) people pressured into making irrational decisions
B) people with few ties in their communities
C) ordinary citizens who found themselves in extraordinary circumstances
D) people motivated by external rewards and expectations

Question 12

Which of the following does NOT represent altruistic behavior?

A) Jeff is a bystander who runs inside a burning building when he hears a mother screaming for help to save her baby.
B) Danny is a soldier in battle and rushes onto the battlefield to retrieve a fallen friend.
C) Ian serves orphans in Mexico where drug cartels have torn the community apart.
D) Mark works hard at his job every day to make it easier for his coworkers to do their job.

Question 13

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.

A) altruistic
B) self-sacrificing
C) prosocial
D) reciprocal

Question 14

Charles Darwin, an evolutionary theorist, found it difficult to explain altruism. From an evolutionary perspective, it would initially seem that over centuries and generations, altruistic behaviors would __________ because __________.

A) increase; more unfit offspring might survive
B) disappear; self-sacrifice would produce fewer offspring
C) disappear; only the fittest, most selfless offspring would survive
D) remain unchanged; the gene pool would become more variable

Question 15

Which of the following is the best example of altruistic behavior?

A) Julie puts a dollar in the church collection basket because everyone else donates.
B) Lexy volunteers at her son's school to help out his class.
C) Robert anonymously donates a kidney to a twenty-year-old accident victim he will never meet.
D) Lou helps his wife with the dishes in the hopes that she'll cook dinner more often.

Question 16

Marla has revised her will to ensure that upon her death, all of her functioning organs (corneas, liver, kidneys, heart, and so on) will be used to help transplant patients. She's told no one about her actions, and expects nothing in return. This is an example of __________ behavior.

A) altruistic
B) evolutionarily adaptive
C) self-sacrificing
D) normative

Question 17

Prosocial behavior is __________.

A) performed with the goal of benefiting another person
B) appreciated by everyone we help
C) performed without regard to a person's self-interest
D) cheering on your team at their game

Question 18

Evolutionary psychology is the study of __________.

A) how our environment modifies inherited characteristics
B) the immediate influence our biology has on how we react to social situations
C) social behaviors as a result of genetic factors and natural selection
D) application of social psychology to the study of biological processes

Question 19

When Jochem saw the child fall through the ice at the lake, he never hesitated and immediately dove in to save the child. This is an example of __________ behavior.

A) altruistic
B) evolutionary
C) survival
D) prosocial

Question 20

According to evolutionary theory (Darwin, 1859), natural selection favors genes that promote individual survival. This tenet is most troublesome in explaining __________.

A) aggression
B) altruism
C) prosocial behavior
D) the protection of the young

Question 21

Why are many biologists skeptical about the concept of group selection?

A) Classic evolutionary theory proposes that the processes of natural selection operate only at the individual, not the group level.
B) Humans have not lived in groups for very long in their evolutionary history.
C) Evolutionary theory does not have any interest in examining the concept of altruism.
D) Evolutionary theory believes it does an adequate job of explaining altruism with concepts such as rewards and costs.

Question 22

Kin selection occurs __________.

A) more often in men
B) more often in women
C) more often in collectivist cultures
D) equally often in the two genders and in the various cultures studied

Question 23

A giant tornado is bearing down on Dorothy's farmhouse. She only has time to help one other resident. Based on research regarding kin selection, whom will Dorothy take with her to the storm cellar?

A) her sister, Glenda
B) her grandmother, Margaret
C) her beloved dog, Toto
D) her favorite farm hand, Ray

Question 24

Why would gratitude evolve in a social group?

A) to motivate us to return help we have received from others
B) to increase the costs of helping
C) to make people feel empathy
D) to facilitate group selection

Question 25

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

A) kin selection
B) familial selection
C) kinship bias
D) familial reciprocity

Question 26

Researchers (Burnstein, Crandall, & Kitayama, 1994) found that when participants imagined a house fire, they were more likely to help some people than other people. Based on these researchers' findings, it seems that in life-and-death situations, __________.

A) norms are more important than genetic similarity
B) culture is more important than biology
C) biological relatives are more likely to be helped than are nonrelatives
D) women are more sensitive to norms, and men more sensitive to biology

Question 27

One consequence of living by the Golden Rule, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you," is that if you help those in need, they might return the favor someday. This idea is best represented by ___________.

A) the norm of obedience
B) the norm of reciprocity
C) informational social influence
D) normative social influence

Question 28

According to evolutionary psychologists, why would Doris be more likely to save her children than her parents in a life-threatening emergency? Doris's children __________.

A) are more likely to pass on her genes
B) are less likely to be able to save themselves
C) share more genes in common with Doris than do her parents
D) are more likely to seek Doris out than are her parents

Question 29

When considering altruistic behaviors, which of the following is true?

A) Women are more altruistic than men.
B) Men are more altruistic than women.
C) Men and women are equally altruistic.
D) Neither men nor women are altruistic.

Question 30

According to the evolutionary psychology notion of kin selection, Bob is most likely to help his __________.

A) cousin Herbert
B) step-sister Sally
C) brother Ralph
D) best friend Randall

Question 31

Although evidence from studies presented in the chapter suggests that people are more likely to help family than strangers or friends in some situations, they also note that people are equally likely to help a friend or family member under which of the following circumstances?

A) a life-threatening emergency
B) a life-threatening nonemergency
C) any life-threatening situation
D) a non-life-threatening situation

Question 32

Helga stops and helps Bjorn change a flat tire along the road because she figures that one day she'll need help and someone will return the favor. This best illustrates the idea of __________.

A) paying it forward
B) reciprocity
C) karmic law
D) evolution

Question 33

In a group setting, one member could take advantage of the help that he/she receives from the other group members, thereby exploiting the reciprocity norm to his/her advantage. Some researchers believe that, instead, __________ evolved.

A) gratitude
B) diffusion of responsibility
C) bystander effect
D) volunteering

Question 34

Kin selection appears to be a(n) __________ act.

A) ingrained
B) conscious
C) effortless
D) purposeless

Question 35

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

A) Samuel risks his life to save his nephew in a car accident.
B) Jane runs in to save her adopted daughter from a fire.
C) When Alphonso was put in the unfortunate situation of saving his wife or his son in a boating accident, he chose to save his son first, and his wife died.
D) When Larry was on a ship going down at sea, he let everyone else be saved ahead of him, even though everyone on the ship was a complete stranger to him.

Question 36

Some evolutionary psychologists argue that in our distant past, those who selfishly pursued their own individual interests would be less likely to survive to pass on their genes. This argument lies at the heart of __________ as a source of altruistic behavior.

A) kin selection
B) social exchange
C) the reciprocity norm
D) the ability to learn social norms

Question 37

When American and Japanese participants were studied on the likelihood they would engage in altruistic behavior, what was the final result?

A) Americans are more likely to be altruistic than the Japanese.
B) The Japanese were more likely to be altruistic than the Americans.
C) Both cultures were equally likely to be altruistic.
D) Neither culture wanted to behave altruistically.

Question 38

Based on evidence from studies presented in the chapter on evolutionary explanations of helping behavior, whom would you be the most likely to help if she had just spilled the contents of her purse?

A) your friend
B) your cousin
C) your sister
D) You would be equally likely to help anyone.

Question 39

The norm of reciprocity is defined as __________.

A) the expectation that helping others will increase the likelihood that they will help us in the future
B) the expectation that helping others will bring notoriety and improved social standing
C) a belief that the world is fair
D) a belief in karma

Question 40

In explaining the process by which kin selection works to encourage altruism, evolutionary psychologists would argue that __________.

A) Helpers consciously consider "biological importance" before helping.
B) Norms have arisen to replace ingrained human behavior.
C) Over millennia, the genes of those who follow the "biological importance" rule will survive.
D) The "biological importance" rule is used only in life-and-death situations.

Question 41

Elaine explains that she donates money to charity because, "It makes me feel like I'm investing in the future. It just feels good!" Her motive for helping is BEST described by which theory?

A) evolutionary
B) social exchange
C) kin selection
D) empathy-altruism

Question 42

__________ theory would be most likely to mention such factors as social approval and increased self-worth as motivations for prosocial behavior.

A) Evolutionary
B) Social exchange
C) Norm activation
D) Empathy-altruism

Question 43

Social exchange theory would have the most trouble explaining which of the following helping situations?

A) Anna visits people with AIDS as a requirement of her health psychology course.
B) Theo calmly walks into heavy traffic to rescue a stranger who collapsed in the crosswalk.
C) On the way home from work, David drops off some notes for a classmate.
D) A wealthy businesswoman makes a hefty donation to her congressman.

Question 44

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?

A) Mario calls an ambulance to help his elderly mother, who is dying.
B) Susan runs out into a busy freeway to save a wounded animal.
C) Henry saves his daughter before he saves his sister from a flooded basement.
D) Sarah helps her biological daughter before helping her stepson escape a fire.

Question 45

A child starts to cry after she sees her best friend trip and scrape her knee. The child's behavior is most likely an example of __________.

A) fear
B) confusion
C) empathy
D) shame

Question 46

What is social exchange theory?

A) That if we help one person, someone will be there to help us when we need it.
B) That we are more likely to rescue direct relatives than we are to save perfect strangers.
C) Much of what we do stems from the desire to maximize our rewards and cut our costs.
D) The idea that we perform some acts with the goal of benefitting someone else.

Question 47

What is group selection?

A) The act of picking out the strongest members of a group.
B) The idea that natural selection can operate on the group level as well as with individuals.
C) The idea that every group presents only their best and brightest individuals in any situation of emergency.
D) The act of forming groups within a community, each with a different purpose.

Question 48

According to your text, which of the following scenario's is least likely defended by a social exchange theory?

A) Helping Todd today will allow someone else to help me tomorrow.
B) When Anya cried out for help, Paul intervened to relieve his own distress.
C) When Klis helped Jana, he was rewarded by the claps of the bystanders.
D) Javier empathized with Moises when he dropped his groceries, so he helped him pick them up.

Question 49

The authors provide the text of a UPI story describing the discovery of the bones of a disabled dwarf in a cave in northern Italy. The reporters speculate that over 12,000 years ago, early hominids would take care of the disabled members of their group. __________ would argue that the bones belonged to a dwarf who was related to the other cave inhabitants, whereas __________ would argue that the other inhabitants relied on the dwarf for some unknown purpose.

A) Social exchange theorists; evolutionary theorists
B) Evolutionary theorists; social exchange theorists
C) Social psychologists; evolutionary theorists
D) Social exchange theorists; social psychologists

Question 50

Evolutionary psychologists believe that people help others because __________.

A) it fills them with a warm feeling when they are done
B) they will be rewarded financially for it
C) they will win awards for it
D) it has become ingrained in our genes

Question 51

Mayling is approached by a homeless person on the street and asked for some change. Mayling has been struggling to make ends meet and decides that she can't afford to give money to the homeless person right now. What theory BEST explains her choice?

A) evolutionary theory
B) kin selection
C) social exchange
D) the norm of reciprocity

Question 52

A principal theory in social psychology is social exchange theory. According to this theory, we will be most likely to help others __________.

A) when the benefits outweigh the costs
B) who are closely related to us
C) who have already helped us
D) for whom we feel empathy

Question 53

In social exchange theory, we are always looking to __________.

A) have others profit from our help
B) profit from the services we provide others
C) lose a little of one's self with each service task
D) turn over our rewards to benefit others

Question 54

You ask your brother if you can borrow his car for a date on Saturday night. Before handing over the keys, he asks in jest, "What's in it for me?" His question best reflects __________ as applied to prosocial behavior.

A) the empathy-altruism hypothesis
B) social exchange theory
C) the reciprocity norm
D) an egocentric perspective

Question 55

__________ refers to the ability to experience events or emotions from another person's perspective.

A) Empathy
B) Identification
C) Altruism
D) Transference

Question 56

The groups of people who live among those who are __________ may be more likely to survive than those people who live among groups of people who are __________. This idea is referred to as __________.

A) selfless; selfish; altruism
B) selfish; selfless; natural selection
C) selfless; selfish; group selection
D) selfish; selfless; altruism

Question 57

The main tenet of social exchange theory is that we will help others when __________.

A) the costs outweigh the rewards
B) the rewards are high
C) the costs are low
D) they have already helped us

Question 58

Complete the following analogy. Reward of helping is to __________ as cost of helping is to __________.

A) relieves distress; embarrassment
B) pain; time
C) danger; relieve distress
D) embarrassment; pain

Question 59

Which of the following challenges to the evolutionary theory of altruism was NOT reported in your book?

A) Why do complete strangers sometimes help each other?
B) Saving family may only mean we have a greater need to save loved ones.
C) Group selection is not a universally accepted concept.
D) None of the research in evolutionary theory has actually been observed behaviorally.

Question 60

Although George wants to help a stranded motorist he passed on the freeway, he passes by because he knows it would take too much time out of his busy schedule. What theory offers the BEST explanation as to why George did not help?

A) evolutionary
B) negative-state relief
C) empathy-altruism
D) social exchange

Question 61

Which of the following statements is most closely related to the empathy-altruism hypothesis (Batson, 1991)?

A) "You scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours."
B) "Before you accuse me, take a look at yourself."
C) "Walk a mile in my shoes."
D) "I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today."

Question 62

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?

A) social-exchange theory
B) kin selection
C) the empathy-altruism hypothesis
D) the norm of reciprocity

Question 63

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

A) low; will help when the costs of not helping are high
B) high; will help no matter what the costs
C) high; will pay attention to social exchange factors
D) low; only help when the costs of not helping are high

Question 64

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

A) fear; will
B) distress; will not
C) anxiety; will not
D) empathy; will

Question 65

Recall that participants in an experiment described in the text (Toi & Batson, 1982) listened to an (alleged) radio interview in which a student in their introductory psychology class described an accident that caused her to fall behind in the course. Some participants were told that Carol would soon be returning to their class. According to the research, why is this referred to as a "high cost" condition?

A) Carol was still in a wheelchair, and it would be hard for her to get to class.
B) Every time participants saw her, they would feel guilty if they didn't help her.
C) Participants would have to go out of their way to copy their notes for Carol.
D) Every time participants saw her, they would be able to empathize with her.

Question 66

When Jillian (a widow) hears about another woman in her community who just lost her husband, she immediately plans to go visit this other widow because she thinks, "Who better than I, can understand what she is feeling?" This is an example of __________.

A) altruism
B) prosocial exchange
C) reciprocity
D) empathy-altruism

Question 67

Jim dives into the water to help his drowning sister; Ivan dives into the water to help a total stranger because he wanted to impress his new girlfriend and is a trained lifeguard. Jim's motive to help is best explained by __________, while Ivan's motive to help is best explained by __________.

A) evolutionary theory; kin selection
B) evolutionary theory; social exchange theory
C) social exchange theory; empathy-altruism hypothesis
D) kin selection; empathy-altruism hypothesis

Question 68

The authors of your text explain that there are three main motives for helping others. They are __________.

A) evolutionary, kinship selection, and cognitive dissonance
B) evolutionary, cognitive dissonance, and empathy-altruism
C) evolutionary, empathy-altruism, and social exchange
D) empathy-altruism, social exchange, and cognitive dissonance

Question 69

"Put yourself in my position," Janice whines. "Can't you spare an hour to help me out?" Janice is attempting to evoke __________ when trying to persuade you to help her.

A) empathy
B) the reciprocity norm
C) kin selection
D) social exchange pressures

Question 70

The basic tenet of __________ is that when we feel empathy for another person's plight, we will help that person regardless of what we may stand to gain.

A) kin selection
B) evolutionary psychology
C) the reciprocity norm
D) the empathy-altruism hypothesis

Question 71

The authors of your text tell a story about Abraham Lincoln in which Lincoln ordered a coach to stop so he could save some piglets from drowning. Lincoln claimed that he helped because "I should have had no peace of mind all day had I gone on and left that suffering old sow worrying over those pigs." Lincoln argued that he was helping because of __________.

A) altruism
B) self-interest
C) social exchange concerns
D) the reciprocity norm

Question 72

Justin sees a blind person in need of help crossing a busy intersection. If Justin does not feel empathy for the blind person, under what circumstances (according to Batson's empathy-altruism hypothesis) would Justin help?

A) if he is running late for a meeting
B) if the rewards would outweigh the costs
C) if the costs are very high
D) if Justin is angry

Question 73

In support for the empathy-altruism hypothesis, researchers (Toi & Batson, 1982) found that participants were most likely to help a student named Carol who was injured in an automobile accident when they were told __________.

A) to try to imagine how Carol felt about what happened to her and how it changed her life.
B) to be objective, and not to focus on how Carol felt.
C) that they would see Carol every week in class.
D) that they would never come face to face with Carol.

Question 74

Suppose Dan is late for a very important meeting. As he runs toward his car, he sees a woman using crutches who has dropped a large stack of papers onto a busy sidewalk. Dan feels a great deal of empathy for this woman because he remembers how tough it was when he had to use crutches a couple years before. According to the empathy-altruism hypothesis, Dan will __________.

A) help her pick up the papers because he knows that she and other people around them will think he's a nice person
B) help her pick up the papers because he wants to reduce his own and her distress
C) help her pick up the papers because he wants to feel good about himself
D) not help her pick up the papers because he knows how long it takes to pick up papers

Question 75

Which of the following is a CORRECT statement about helping behaviors?

A) Helping behavior is common in virtually all species of animals.
B) Helping behavior is uncommon in species outside of humans.
C) Helping behavior has not been observed in any species other than humans.
D) Helping behavior is too hard to define in other species for it to be studied systematically.

Question 76

The authors of your text offer three main motives as to why people help others. Which of the following is NOT one of those motives?

A) evolutionary explanations
B) social exchange theory
C) the empathy-altruism hypothesis
D) cognitive dissonance

Question 77

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

A) People rarely experience empathy.
B) People are motivated strongly by rewards.
C) It can be difficult to know people's true motives when helping.
D) Helping is difficult to do because of the costs involved.

Question 78

Raphael volunteers as a Big Brother. He donates money to charity, and he helps his elderly next-door neighbor with weekly shopping and home repairs. Raphael's personality is __________.

A) altruistic
B) egoistic
C) controlling
D) prosocial

Question 79

Recent research by Buchanan and Preston (2016) has shown that when people help others, the same parts of their brain are activated as when they __________.

A) feel sympathy
B) receive tangible rewards like food, water, and sex
C) succeed in problem-solving
D) show selfish behaviors

Question 80

Recall that participants in an experiment described in the text (Toi & Batson, 1982) listened to an (alleged) radio interview in which a student in their introductory psychology class described an accident that caused her to fall behind in the course. Some participants were encouraged to empathize with "Carol," whereas others were encouraged to listen objectively to the interview. Some participants in each of these two groups were led to believe that Carol would be returning to their psychology course; others were led to believe that she would finish out the term at home, and that they would never see her again. These researchers found that when participants __________, their decision to help was guided by __________.

A) empathized with Carol; social exchange concerns
B) listened objectively; their own personal experiences
C) empathized with Carol; their own personal experiences
D) did not empathize with Carol; social exchange concerns