Deck 14: Helping and Cooperation

Question 1

Currently, there is a great need for people to indicate that they are willing to serve as organ donors after they die. Use what you know about prosocial behavior to explain 5 steps that could be taken to increase the number of organ donors.

Answer 1

The text describes 6 steps that may be taken to increase prosocial behavior. Students should describe 5. 1) Reduce ambiguity and make the need for help clear - People should be made explicitly aware that there is great need for organ donors. They should be informed by their doctors, by the media, and by their family and friends. 2) Increase internal attributions for helping - People will be more likely to serve as organ donors if they perceive themselves as compassionate, giving people. Have individuals reflect on themselves as compassionate people and then ask them to sign an organ donor card. 3) Teach norms that support helping - People will be more likely to become organ donors if their families, schools, etc. reinforce norms supporting social responsibility and prosocial behavior. 4) Activate prosocial norms - Make sure that relevant social norms are activated in people's minds (e.g., the norm of social responsibility) by telling people it is important to help others who can't help themselves. 5) Infuse responsibility - Call people out individually and ask them to become an organ donor. When people feel personally responsible they are less likely to avoid helping others. 6) Promote identification with those who are in need of help - In order to increase people's feelings of empathy, ask them to see similarities between themselves and those who are in need of an organ transplant. These feelings of empathy will increase the likelihood that people engage in prosocial behavior.

Question 2

According to research on individual differences in cooperation, in a social dilemma who is most likely to favor equal outcomes and work for the good of the group as a whole?

A) Someone who has just been primed to think about ""smart"" behavior.
B) Someone with an individualist social value orientation.
C) Someone with a competitive social value orientation.
D) Someone with a prosocial social value orientation.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Patricia is working with a large committee to organize a fundraiser to rebuild a local church that has fallen into disrepair. Assuming that Patricia is a highly identified member of this committee, what is she LEAST likely to believe about her committee?

A) She is likely to see her fellow committee members as intelligent.
B) She is likely to worry that other group members are free-riding.
C) She is likely to devote a lot of time working on the fundraiser, even if this cuts in to her own personal time.
D) She is likely to trust that others will cooperate.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In a classic study, Brewer and Kramer (1986) created a resource depletion dilemma in the laboratory. In which condition did people withdraw fewer resources from the common pool?

A) When they were made to identify with their group.
B) When they were told that payments would be determined on an individual basis.
C) When they believed they were part of an 8-person group.
D) When they believed they were part of a 32-member group.

Question 5

Imagine a fisherman who is taking more than his fair share of the fish. According to your text, in which culture should punishment against this fisherman be most effective?

A) In a collectivistic culture
B) In an individualistic culture
C) In a high-trust culture
D) In a low-trust culture

Question 6

Research shows that people are more likely to donate to a public good after group discussion, and less likely to donate money if discussion is not permitted. Why does communication lead to an increase in donations?

A) The group members are able to form a norm regarding appropriate behavior.
B) The group members come to an understanding regarding deviations from the norm.
C) The group members promise to stick to the norm.
D) All of the above

Question 7

______ is the expectation that people will act in a prosocial way during a social interaction.

A) Cooperation
B) Trust
C) Social value orientation
D) Egoism

Question 8

Which of the following statements about social dilemmas is FALSE?

A) Rewards and punishments are more effective if they are imposed by an external authority, rather than by the group itself.
B) When imposing sanctions on people who don't cooperate, costly incentives are more effective than free ones.
C) Free riding is easier in large, as opposed to small, groups.
D) The development of norms that support cooperation is essential in ensuring that people behave in a prosocial way.

Question 9

According to your text, which of the following is an effective way to prevent people from following their individual interests when faced with a public goods dilemma?

A) Reward those who cooperate
B) Fine those who do not cooperate
C) Make people pay taxes that will cover the cost of the provided good.
D) All of the above

Question 10

Picking all of the blackberries from a bush so that no one else can have any is an example of a __________, whereas free-loading viewers who hope that other people are making donations to a public broadcasting channel so they can continue to watch is an example of a __________.

A) prisoner's dilemma; commons dilemma
B) commons dilemma; prisoner's dilemma
C) public goods dilemma; resource depletion dilemma
D) resource depletion dilemma; public good dilemma

Question 11

Which of the following is a social dilemma?

A) Neighbors working together to negotiate who will repair a broken fence.
B) An individual who likes to smoke on his lunch break even though his friends disapprove.
C) Villagers who must share the fresh water in the town's only well, or else it will go dry.
D) All of the above

Question 12

__________ occurs when, as a result of everyone putting their own interests first, the group as a whole suffers.

A) The norm of social responsibility
B) A social dilemma
C) Egoism
D) Pluralistic ignorance

Question 13

According to the research described in your text, who should be happiest after spending money?

A) People who spent $10, rather than $5, on themselves.
B) People who spent $10, rather than $5, on someone else.
C) People who bought a bag of candy and then anonymously donated it to a sick child.
D) All of the above

Question 14

Research on the relation between empathy and helping has shown all but which of the following results?

A) People who had previously made eye contact with an experimenter were more likely to help her later, as opposed to strangers who had never met her before.
B) People can be trained to be more compassionate.
C) People are more likely to help those who subtly mimic them.
D) People donate less money when they consider one victim as opposed to many victims.

Question 15

A strong earthquake has just rocked through a town leaving some buildings on the verge of collapse. People who were walking outside at the time of the earthquake need to decide - right now - whether or not they are going to help those potentially trapped in the buildings. Assuming that people's arousal level is high and they need to act quickly, which factor will most strongly influence whether they help those in need?

A) The ability to systematically process what has happened.
B) The presence of bystanders.
C) Feelings of empathy for the victims.
D) Thoughts of the danger they could personally experience.

Question 16

In a study by Rand, Greene, and Nowak (2012) the amount of time it took participants to make allocation decisions in a number of social dilemma experiments was assessed. The results showed that:

A) People who took at least 10 seconds to consider their decision engaged in more prosocial behavior.
B) Decisions made more quickly tended to be more prosocial.
C) Systematic processing led to more prosocial behavior.
D) Faster responses were more cooperative among people who reported that their daily interactions were less cooperative.

Question 17

Drew is struggling in his Calculus class. Based on the study by Alvarez and Van Leeuwen (2011), which type of help is likely to cause Drew to feel the most competent and respected?

A) Autonomy-oriented help provided by a professor.
B) Autonomy-oriented help provided by a fellow student.
C) Dependency-oriented help provided by a professor.
D) Dependency -oriented help provided by a fellow student.

Question 18

In which situations is helping generally appreciated and in which situations is helping generally not appreciated? Illustrate your answers with an example from your own life.

Question 19

The number of volunteers at the local animal shelter have decreased significantly in the last year. You are in charge of giving a presentation at a nearby university to recruit new volunteers. In your presentation, you should describe the numerous benefits of volunteering. Specifically, you should explain to the students how volunteering meets both mastery, connectedness, and self-esteem needs. Finally, if your goal is to encourage these volunteers to volunteer for a long period of time, what sh

Question 20

Imagine that one of your roommates is allowing his younger brother Lee to crash at your place for a few weeks. During the first week he is there, Lee eats all of your food, leaves his wet towels on the floor, and makes a mess of the kitchen. Based on what you've learned about social dilemmas, briefly describe 3 tactics you could use to change Lee's behavior.

Question 21

Maureen is putting a bowl of Halloween candy on her front porch because she won't be home on the 31st. Which social dilemma should Maureen be most concerned about and why? Use what you know about this particular dilemma to advise Maureen on how to prevent individual trick-or-treaters from acting selfishly. Finally, is your advice to Maureen likely to be successful? Explain.

Question 22

Two friends, Jonah and Pete, are discussing whether true altruism really exists. Jonah believes that altruism does exist and uses the example of a volunteer firefighter rushing into a burning building to save a woman trapped in a third story apartment. Pete argues that this action is not true altruism. Briefly describe 2 models that have been used to understand helping behavior and discuss how each model would explain these actions by a volunteer firefighter.

Question 23

What is the relation between mood and helping? Should Happy Helen, Guilty Grant, or Sad Sandra be more likely to help someone in need? Explain.

Question 24

A woman is trapped in a third story apartment that has just caught on fire. Describe 3 personality and/or situational factors that will make people more likely to help in this emergency situation. What are 2 costs and 2 rewards associated with helping others in emergency situations like this one?

Question 25

According to evolutionary theory, what are 3 reasons why people help others even when they may incur some personal costs for helping?

Question 26

Describe one norm that makes helping more likely and another norm that makes helping less likely.

Question 27

Imagine someone slips on some ice, falls down, and breaks their arm. Is this person more likely to get help when multiple bystanders are present, or when only one bystander is present? Briefly describe the method and results of one relevant study and explain what the results tell us about the presence of bystanders and the likelihood of people receiving help.

Question 28

How do perceptions of deservingness influence who receives help and who does not? Describe one group of people who perceivers should believe are deserving of help and one group of people who should be perceived as less deserving of help.

Question 29

Which of the following interventions provides the best solution to the global dilemma of climate change?

A) Highlight the total power people today have over impacting the future health of our planet.
B) Encourage people to reflect upon the beautiful earth they have inherited and encourage them to ""pay it forward"".
C) Have people think of their own mortality.
D) All of the above

Question 30

Batson and his colleagues (1981) conducted a study in which another participant named Elaine (who was afraid of electricity) received mild electric shocks. In which condition were participants most willing to trade places with Elaine?

A) When they felt empathy toward her.
B) When the participants wanted to alleviate their own personal distress.
C) When it was easy for the participants to leave the experiment.
D) When they learned that Elaine was very different from them.

Question 31

Brian's best friend Jacob is upset because he just lost his job. Because his bad mood is really bringing Brian down, Brian tries to make Jacob feel better by taking him to see their favorite band. When Jacob feels better, Brian is happy. Brian's motivation to make Jacob feel better can best be explained by the ___________ model.

A) empathy-altruism
B) social dilemma
C) negative-state relief
D) social obligation

Question 32

People who do good deeds because they think of themselves as compassionate people, are more likely to do additional good deeds in the future.

Question 33

Research on social dilemmas shows that women tend to be more cooperative than men.

Question 34

Feeling empathy toward an individual group member is an important contributor to solving social dilemmas.

Question 35

In certain cultures, people who cooperate in social dilemmas are punished and free riders are not.

Question 36

When faced with social dilemmas, people usually follow their own self-interests to the detriment of the group as a whole.

Question 37

In every culture, people who donate money to charity feel happier about their lives than those who do not make charitable donations.

Question 38

When asking people to make charitable donations, it's better to have them think about multiple victims, rather than just one.

Question 39

Studies of people who heroically rescued Jews during the Third Reich showed that these individuals tended to be more empathic than others.

Question 40

Compared to men, women are more likely to help in emergency situations.

Question 41

People who identify strongly with a parent who taught norms that encourage helping others are more likely to help others in heroic ways.

Question 42

People often use the reactions of others to determine if a situation is an emergency and if they should offer help.

Question 43

In an emergency situation, people are more likely to receive help if multiple bystanders are present.

Question 44

People in happy moods are more likely to help others.

Question 45

Edie volunteers in her spare time at a soup kitchen to help those in need. Volunteers for another organization are working together to build a house for individuals whose old home was damaged in an earthquake. Based on the definitions provided in the text, Edie is engaging in _______ and the other volunteers are engaging in _______.

A) prosocial behavior; cooperation
B) cooperation; prosocial behavior
C) egoistic helping; prosocial behavior
D) cooperation; egoistic helping

Question 46

Jonathan sees a stranded motorist on the side of the freeway and pulls over to help the motorist change a flat tire. If Jonathan decided to help this person without expecting anything in return, then this is an example of:

A) Egoism
B) Negative-state relief
C) The bystander effect
D) Altruism

Question 47

Without going beyond the information provided, which of the following actions by Abe is the clearest example of egoism?

A) Abe spends time helping his friend study for an exam because he wants his friend to succeed.
B) Abe acts as a peer tutor because it will look good on his resume.
C) Abe buys canned goods and then donates them to the local food bank.
D) Abe anonymously donates money to a local children's charity.

Question 48

According to research by Eagly and Crowley (1986), men are more likely to help in _______ whereas women help more often in _______.

A) relationships; emergency situations
B) emergency situations; relationships
C) more costly ways; less costly ways
D) less costly ways; more costly ways

Question 49

Imagine people are working hard in the cubicles in their office when, suddenly, the lights flicker and an individual in the next room cries out in pain. Who will be most likely to investigate and help the other person?

A) Gary, who is training a group of new employees.
B) Elliot, who dropped out of medical school after his first semester.
C) Harry, who is high in self-efficacy.
D) All of the above

Question 50

According to evolutionary theory, in which of the following situations is the prosocial behavior (on some level) driven by the motivation to pass on one's genes?

A) Kyle puts his life at risk to push his son out of the way of an oncoming vehicle.
B) Ashley lets her friend borrow $50 until her next paycheck comes in.
C) When deciding who to let into their fraternity, the brothers decide to invite Derek rather than Miles, because Derek helped one of the brothers fix his car.
D) All of the above

Question 51

Janelle is a devout Christian who spends a lot of time helping other Christians in need. When asked if she would also like to volunteer to help Muslims in her community who were in need, Janelle declined. It is likely that Janelle would score high on the _______.

A) Religion principle
B) Supernatural principle
C) Empathy-altruism principle
D) Negative-state relief principle

Question 52

In a classic study by Darley and Batson (1973), seminary students passed by a man slumped in a doorway as they walked across campus to give a speech. In which of the following conditions were the seminary students most likely to stop and help this man?

A) When the students were about to give a speech on the Good Samaritan.
B) When the students were not in a hurry to give their speech.
C) When the students were in their final, as opposed to first year, of seminary school.
D) When the students had previously been asked to think about what their religion means to them.

Question 53

Based on the study by Shotland and Straw (1976) in which a physical attack was staged between a man and a woman, what should a woman shout out if she is being attacked by a stranger?

A) Help me!
B) Fire!
C) I don't know why I ever married you!
D) I don't know you!

Question 54

In a study by Latane and Darley (1968), participants filled out paperwork in a waiting room when, all of a sudden, smoke started pouring into the room. Participants in only one of the conditions reliably reported the smoke. What explanation was given to explain the failure of participants in the other conditions to also report the smoke?

A) The participants assumed someone else had reported the smoke.
B) The participants used the reactions of the two other 'participants' to infer that the situation was not an emergency.
C) The participants in the other conditions were heavy smokers and therefore desensitized to the presence of smoke.
D) All of the above

Question 55

Early one morning, Jackie is pushing her infant son in a stroller past a park in downtown Chicago. As she walks by the park, she notices a man who appears to be homeless slumped down at an odd angle on a park bench. She immediately looks around her to see if anyone else notices the man. People passing by jogging and driving by in their cars do not seem concerned about the man on the bench, so Jackie assumes that he must be okay. In this situation, Jackie did not help because of:

A) Diffusion of responsibility
B) Negative-state relief
C) Pluralistic ignorance
D) Demand characteristics

Question 56

During a study ostensibly on problems of college life, participants heard one of the other participants having a seizure. In which of the following conditions were the participants most likely to get help for the other participant?

A) When the participants knew the experimenter could not hear the individual having a seizure.
B) When the participants knew the individual who was having a seizure.
C) When the participants thought they were the only one who could hear the individual having a seizure.
D) When multiple bystanders were able to hear the individual having a seizure.

Question 57

Gene is on his way to work early one morning when he sees a car overturned in a field. He assumes that someone else must have already called the police, and so he doesn't pull over to investigate. Based on this example, Gene did not help because of:

A) Diffusion of responsibility
B) Negative-state relief
C) Pluralistic ignorance
D) Demand characteristics

Question 58

Research by Darley and Latane attributed the 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese to which of the following factors?

A) Bystander apathy
B) Diffusion of responsibility
C) The fact that no bystanders were present
D) Pluralistic ignorance

Question 59

Which of the following statements about helping is false?

A) Group norms influence who is perceived as deserving of help.
B) The norm of social responsibility suggests that people have an obligation to help the less fortunate.
C) In some cultures, even the most valuable resources are freely shared.
D) People are more likely to help those who are in need because of controllable, rather than uncontrollable, reasons.

Question 60

In a study by Isen and Levin (1972) participants were put into either a good mood or a bad mood and their likelihood of helping a confederate pick up a fallen stack of books was recorded. The results showed that:

A) Regardless of mood, males were more likely to help when the confederate was a female.
B) Regardless of mood, females were more likely to help when the confederate was a male.
C) People in happy moods were more likely to help than those in sad moods.
D) People in sad moods were more likely to help than those in happy moods.

Question 61

People are more likely to help others in quiet, rural areas than in crowded cities.