Deck 13: Prosocial Behaviour

Question 1

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of prosocial behaviour?

A) It follows all religious principles
B) It contributes to physical or psychological wellbeing
C) It is voluntary
D) It is socially valued

Answer 1

It follows all religious principles

Question 2

Prosocial behaviour includes the concepts of

A) bystander intervention
B) sympathy
C) helping
D) all of the above

Answer 2

all of the above

Question 3

When Kitty Genovese was murdered in 1964 the crime shocked the public.This was because

A) only one person went to her aid
B) many local people appeared callous or unconcerned
C) witnesses were unconcerned
D) the New York police force had been particularly callous

Answer 3

many local people appeared callous or unconcerned

Question 4

When an act is performed to benefit another without expectation of one's own gain it is specifically termed

A) virtuous behaviour
B) altruistic behaviour
C) helping behaviour
D) prosocial behaviour

Question 5

Altruistic behaviour refers to behaviour that

A) involves a payoff for the helper
B) cannot be classified as prosocial behaviour
C) is intended to benefit the person helped rather than the helper
D) hurts the helper

Question 6

Up to the 1960s,prosocial behaviour was not easily explained by traditional theories of human behaviour because

A) prosocial behaviour has many facets
B) traditional theories had emphasised people's self-interest
C) it is hard to quantify prosocial behaviour
D) the Kitty Genovese murder case uncovered a totally new phenomenon

Question 7

Prosocial behaviour can generally be defined as acts that

A) are performed without expecting any gain
B) define the best kind of society in which to live
C) are positively valued by society
D) are intended to benefit someone else

Question 8

Evolutionary biologists have pointed cogently to examples of cooperative behaviour in animals.An example that supports this argument is

A) the frustration-aggression hypothesis
B) social identity theory
C) observational learning
D) cooperative behaviour that is biased towards blood relatives to help propagate one's own genes

Question 9

Psychologists who claim that altruism has been commonly observed in a variety of species favour the

A) evolutionary perspective
B) biomedical paradigm
C) observational learning approach
D) diffusionist approach

Question 10

Evolutionary biologists have pointed cogently to examples of cooperative behaviour in animals.An example that supports this argument is

A) socially learned behaviour
B) mutually cooperative behaviour that has positive outcomes for the cooperator as well as others
C) self-reinforcing behaviour
D) cathartic behaviour

Question 11

Evolutionary social psychology has proposed that complex social behaviour

A) helps the individual to survive
B) is adaptive
C) helps kin and the species to survive
D) all of the above

Question 12

The ________ perspective explains prosocial behaviour as the attempt to increase the probability that kin and species will survive.

A) evolutionary
B) social learning
C) Freudian
D) Piagetian

Question 13

Which of the following was NOT a finding in a study on altruism by Burnstein and colleagues (1994)dealing with the use of neo-Darwinian decision rules?

A) Sick persons were more likely to be helped than healthy ones
B) There was an interaction between health, kinship and willingness to help
C) Closer kin were more likely to receive help
D) Healthy persons were more likely to receive help in a mundane situation

Question 14

Prosocial behaviour

A) is a set of acts common to all cultures
B) excludes the act of harming anyone
C) is what marks human reactions from animal reactions
D) is coloured by the norms of a society

Question 15

Mutualism explanations of cooperative behaviour argue that

A) it is evolutionarily disadvantageous to engage in cooperative behaviour
B) we are motivated to engage in cooperative behaviour because it benefits the cooperator as well as others
C) those who cooperate are biased towards blood relatives because it helps them propagate their own genes
D) none of the above

Question 16

Altruism is

A) sometimes costly
B) a form of helping behaviour that shows concern for fellow humans
C) performed without expectation of personal gain
D) all of the above

Question 17

The nature-nurture controversy can be applied to prosocial behaviour by

A) comparing biological and social explanations
B) asking which gene causes people to help others
C) checking how prosocial behaviour is modelled
D) comparing the effects of conditioning with learning

Question 18

The case of the Kitty Genovese murder has been a major stumbling block in explaining helping behaviour as

A) racial violence
B) entirely biologically predisposed
C) socially learned
D) the outcome of circumstances

Question 19

Burnstein and colleagues (1994)found that people were less likely to help

A) a healthy person than a sick person in an ordinary situation
B) a sick person than a healthy person in a perilous situation
C) a distant relative than a close relative
D) all of the above

Question 20

Which of the following applies to the current status of an evolutionary explanation for helping behaviour?

A) Supportive human evidence is not convincing
B) It has neglected both social and situational factors
C) The strong version of an 'altruistic gene' has been softened to a 'communicative gene'
D) All of the above

Question 21

Empathy

A) is the ability to identify with someone's experiences and feelings
B) is related to perspective taking
C) is affect- and feeling-based
D) all of the above are applicable

Question 22

Piliavin's bystander-calculus model combines

A) costs to society and costs to the victim
B) a number of automatic decision-making stages
C) cognitive and physiological processes
D) neurological and evolutionary principles

Question 23

Rosenkoetter (1999)studied the effect of viewing situation comedies on children,finding that

A) most children did not understand the underlying moral lesson
B) children who watched episodes with moral lessons later acted more prosocially
C) violent lessons were easier to learn than helping behaviour
D) children preferred violent programmes

Question 24

Latane and Darley's (1968)cognitive model of bystander intervention proposed that

A) once the person thinks they might help other influences are irrelevant
B) the major predictor for a person's helping behaviour is the person's values
C) there are considerable differences in people's abilities to empathise with a victim
D) a person's helping behaviour depends on a series of decisions

Question 25

According to Piliavin's bystander-calculus model,time and effort are

A) costs of helping
B) positively correlated
C) crucial for labelling the arousal
D) not dealt with adequately

Question 26

Piliavin's model of the decision-making process used by people when deciding whether to help in an emergency situation is referred to as the

A) bystander-calculus model
B) diffusion of responsibility model
C) differential equation model
D) audience inhibition model

Question 27

Little Anna has watched her big brother Alan being praised for helping Mum carry the heavy shopping bags into the house.Anna is likely to help next time as a result of

A) sibling competition
B) a vicarious learning experience
C) her need for positive self-esteem
D) mental maturing

Question 28

The bystander-calculus model

A) is a means of carrying out computations of effective queuing
B) explains helping on the basis of cognitive and physiological processes
C) explains how person perception works by solely using cognitive processes
D) is a method that waiting persons use to estimate the value of a tip

Question 29

Barry is a macho type,and was not sympathetic when reading a police report about a young woman being hospitalised after a sexual assault at a gang party.'She would have had it coming to her',he thinks.This is an example of

A) the just-world hypothesis
B) new-look prejudice
C) a normative influence
D) the modelling effect

Question 30

Studies with children have shown that displaying prosocial behaviour is linked to

A) Western culture
B) peer pressure
C) socialisation
D) Eastern culture

Question 31

There is a relationship between increased helping and ________ and _______.

A) increased empathy; perspective taking
B) controlling one's emotions; checking for other bystanders
C) being distant from the victim; using cognitive processes
D) all of the above

Question 32

Contrary to conventional views,in their early approach Piliavin and colleagues (1975)based altruism on prosocial behaviour as

A) self-interest
B) learning
C) situations
D) norms

Question 33

In the bystander-calculus model of helping someone thought to be in distress,a crucial stage is reached when

A) the consequences of action are evaluated
B) the ambulance arrives
C) the model to be imitated arrives on the scene
D) eye contact with the victim commences

Question 34

Which of the following is NOT a step in the bystander-calculus model?

A) Labelling the arousal
B) Identifying with the victim
C) Evaluating the consequences
D) Physiological arousal

Question 35

Paula watches her older sister Jenny share her bag of jelly beans with their little brother,Ryan.The next week,Paula is given two biscuits for morning tea.She walks over to Ryan and offers to share one with him.Paula's behaviour is an example of

A) empathy
B) modelling
C) social loafing
D) all of the above

Question 36

A person's motivation for helping after experiencing distress resulting from someone else's distress is called

A) empathy
B) principlism
C) altruism
D) obligation

Question 37

Physiological arousal,labelling the arousal and evaluating the consequences of acting before helping are aspects of

A) the bystander-calculus model
B) the affect-cost model
C) an evolutionary model
D) the diffusion of responsibility model

Question 38

The fact that prosocial behaviour is prescribed,learned and expected makes it

A) normative
B) essential
C) a social obligation
D) a script

Question 39

When the bystander-calculus model is applied to the Kitty Genovese murder,bystander apathy could be accounted for by

A) considering the personal costs of helping, e.g., being killed
B) failing to experience sufficient empathic concern
C) thinking the victim was 'asking for it'
D) both A and B

Question 40

In considering the role of empathy in accounting for helping others

A) it is clear that the concept has a biosocial basis
B) we can note that contextual factors are involved
C) it is necessary to consider the role of arousal
D) all of the above

Question 41

Klentz and Beaman (1981)found that the most successful method for reducing shoplifting was

A) anti-theft posters displayed in store
B) a lecture stressing how and why to report shoplifting and the reasons why bystanders can be inhibited from taking action
C) displaying warning signs which described harsh punishments for shoplifters
D) both A and C

Question 42

People's likelihood of helping others can be increased when

A) they have been complimented on a recent success
B) you write down their name and address before help is expected
C) other people watch and clap
D) you have told them someone is chasing them

Question 43

Among the demographic variables that impact helping behaviour is

A) age
B) gender
C) size of hometown
D) level of income

Question 44

Mark is walking down a busy street and sees a man lying unconscious in the gutter.The man is wearing a dishevelled suit and surrounded by empty beer bottles.The other people walking past don't seem notice the man,and the ones that do just laugh at him and move on.Mark is concerned that the man might actually be in trouble-perhaps he has had a heart attack or some other kind of accident? But Mark also wonders if perhaps the man is fine,perhaps he just had a big night on the town? Mark wants to help but Mark also doesn't want to overact in the situation or act inappropriately.The phenomenon that Mark is experiencing is

A) diffusion of responsibility
B) fear of social blunders
C) prejudice
D) social loafing

Question 45

Przybyla (1985)examined the influence of sexual arousal on helping behaviour.He found that

A) women who reported greater arousal helped other women longer
B) women who reported greater arousal helped men longer
C) men who reported greater arousal helped other men longer
D) men who reported greater arousal helped women longer

Question 46

An event that is unusual,unforeseen and involves danger for a person and/or property is

A) an emergency
B) a social blunder
C) an experiment
D) a surprise

Question 47

There is a paradox: the likelihood of helping someone in distress decreases as the number of potential helpers increases.This can be accounted for to some extent by

A) lack of empathy
B) independence in Western cultures
C) social loafing
D) diffusion of responsibility

Question 48

After a variety of experiments on the bystander effect,the evidence suggests that

A) helping behaviour depends on the victim's needs
B) helping behaviour is strongest amongst anonymous strangers
C) helping behaviour is weakest when there several potential helpers
D) females appear more sympathetic than males

Question 49

Janet is studying at the library when she remembers that she needs to make a phone call.She can be more confident about leaving her books on the desk if she

A) makes them look old and useless
B) asks the student adjacent to her desk to look after her books
C) puts a note on the desk saying that the universe is watching
D) hides them under her cardigan, out of sight

Question 50

Recall that Sherif used the autokinetic phenomenon to study how social norms develop.What does that situation have in common with an emergency? They both involve

A) very high levels of stress
B) the use of confederates acting as subjects
C) an explicit pressure to conform
D) uncertainty and ambiguity about what to think or do

Question 51

Amato (1983)found that as the population of a town/city __________,acts of prosocial behaviour ______________.

A) increased; increased
B) increased; decreased
C) decreased; decreased
D) none of the above

Question 52

To attend to what is happening,to assume responsibility and to decide what can be done are

A) stages of the diffusion of responsibility model
B) steps in Latane & Darley's cognitive model of bystander intervention
C) how bystanders get to know each other
D) indicators that it is too late to help in an emergency

Question 53

A core prediction of Latane and Darley's cognitive model of bystander intervention is that

A) in an emergency, people are most likely to intervene when there are lots of people around because it will make them look good
B) in an emergency, the likelihood of bystanders intervening depends on their belief in a just-world
C) in an emergency, people will react differently according to whether or not others are present
D) none of the above

Question 54

Studies on exam cheating have revealed that cheats

A) respond mostly to situational cues
B) have defective personalities
C) are nearly always caught
D) are heading for a life of crime

Question 55

Group leaders engage more readily in helping behaviour than ordinary group members.Baumeister and colleagues (1988)explain this by means of

A) normative influence
B) less social diffusion
C) group obligation
D) specific skills of the leader

Question 56

Among individuals,a variable that impacts helping behaviour is

A) attractiveness
B) self-esteem
C) perceiving oneself to be competent
D) time

Question 57

Mikulincer and Shaver (2005)found that individuals with _______ attachment style were more likely to be compassionate and altruistic.

A) secure
B) avoidant
C) ambivalent
D) disorganised

Question 58

People who are reluctant to help others are often themselves victims of

A) fear of social blunders
B) having being caught in a reality programme
C) childhood abuse
D) low self-esteem

Question 59

In a study of the function of a social support network for cancer patients,Dakof and Taylor (1990)found that

A) patients' reactions to help were moderated by their relationship with the helper
B) patients were grateful for all the help they could get
C) members from nuclear families tended to withdraw more readily
D) the provision of pain-killing drugs was the only helpful act

Question 60

Mariarty (1975)found that when a confederate asked a participant to mind their belongings while they went for a short walk,the participant was more likely to prevent the confederate's belongings from being stolen.This effect can be explained by

A) prior commitment on the part of the participant
B) social role theory
C) terror management theory
D) social loafing

Question 61

Sam is on the local council.He gets quite annoyed when some councillors argue for a 'user-pays' policy.Sam believes that many local amenities should be heavily subsidised to make more services available to the needy.Sam's belief is called

A) the reciprocity norm
B) the just-world hypothesis
C) the egalitarian principle
D) the social responsibility norm

Question 62

Dakof and Taylor's (1990)study of cancer patients found that

A) when dealing with medical staff, patients most valued help that was in the form of informational, tangible support
B) when dealing with intimate providers (such as friends and family), patients most valued help that related to their self-esteem and was emotionally supportive
C) both A and B
D) neither A nor B

Question 63

An attempt to gain compliance by first doing someone a favour can be referred to as

A) the reciprocity principle
B) the social responsibility norm
C) social compensation
D) none of the above

Question 64

The idea that we should help people who are dependent and in need is referred to as

A) the reciprocity principle
B) the social responsibility norm
C) empathy
D) social loafing

Question 65

'Principlism',one of Batson's (1994)motives for helping others,refers to prosocial acts that are

A) based on the principles of a defined collective
B) based on the reciprocity principle
C) principally aimed at the benefit of the actor
D) the consequence of a moral principle

Question 66

Kevin decides to put the reciprocity principle into practice.A keen rock climber,he decides to join a search-and-rescue team in his local alpine area.He expects to

A) be outdoors even more
B) show off his climbing skills
C) receive help himself if he needs it
D) get free rides in the helicopter

Question 67

Annette has been a willing helper for Jacinta,who is trying to write a psychology essay.Annette is herself worried about an upcoming statistics test.She also knows that Jacinta shines at statistics.Annette's helping behaviour probably includes a good dose of

A) domination
B) true altruism
C) operating on the reciprocity principle
D) cold-bloodedness

Question 68

According to Batson (1994),collectivism,altruism and egoism are

A) personality traits
B) categories signifying various levels of social interaction
C) motives for helping others
D) ways of classifying societies