Deck 11: Prosocial Behavior: Why Do People Help

Question 1

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.

Answer 1

kin selection.

Question 2

Based on evidence from studies by Burnstein and his colleagues 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.

Answer 2

You would be equally likely to help anyone.

Question 3

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 the 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)prosocial.
C)evolutionarily adaptive.
D)an example of kin selection.

Answer 3

altruistic.

Question 4

____ 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 5

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 6

Reuben has three cats at home and doesn't want another one.Still,on the way home from work,he stops to rescue a kitten from the highway.This is an example of ____ behavior.

A)prosocial
B)altruistic
C)sociobiological
D)self-interested

Question 7

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

Question 8

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 9

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 10

Recall that Gene Burnstein,Chris Crandall,and Shinobu 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 is genetic similarity.
B)culture is more important than biology.
C)biological relatives are more likely to be helped than are non-relatives.
D)women are more sensitive to norms,and men more sensitive to biology.

Question 11

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 12

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 13

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

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

Question 14

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)all of the above.

Question 15

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

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

Question 16

A giant tornado is bearing down on Dorothy's farmhouse.She only has time to help one other resident.Based on research conducted by Gene Burnstein and his colleagues (1994),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 17

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 18

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 a(n) ____ behavior.

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

Question 19

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 20

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.

Question 21

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 step-son escape a fire.

Question 22

According to evolutionary psychologists,we help others because of three factors that have become ingrained in our genes: the reciprocity norm,____,and ____

A)empathy; cultural values
B)kin selection; the ability to learn to follow norms and customs
C)social exchange; kin selection
D)empathy; social exchange

Question 23

A principal theory in social psychology is social exchange theory (Homans,1961; Thibaut and Kelley,1959). 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 24

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 25

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 26

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 27

____ 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 28

According to ____,helping occurs only when the benefits of helping outweigh the costs.

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

Question 29

All of the following factors that promote prosocial behavior except ____ have been "ingrained in our genes," according to the theorizing of evolutionary psychologists.

A)kin selection
B)altruism
C)the reciprocity norm
D)the ability to learn and follow social norms

Question 30

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 31

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 32

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 33

Although evidence from studies by Burnstein and his colleagues 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 non-emergency
C)any life-threatening situation
D)a non-life-threatening situation

Question 34

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 35

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,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 36

The basic assumption of social exchange theory is that we will help others when

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

Question 37

Humans' ability to learn social norms is due to

A)brain anatomy.
B)culture.
C)parental influence.
D)natural selection.

Question 38

According to Nobel laureate Herbert Simon (1990),norms (such as the reciprocity norm)that encourage altruism have become part of human cultures because

A)there are survival advantages to learning the norms of one's culture.
B)in humans,values are more important than genes.
C)norms are genetically inherited.
D)evolutionary pressures no longer operate on humans.

Question 39

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 40

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 41

Recall that participants in an experiment by Miho Toi and Daniel 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.Toi and Batson 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

Question 42

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)empathy-altruism hypothesis
D)norm of reciprocity

Question 43

Recall that participants in an experiment by Miho Toi and Daniel 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.Based on the empathy-altruism hypothesis,the researchers predicted that participants would be most likely to help Carol when

A)they were instructed to be objective while listening to the interview.
B)they believed that they would see Carol back in class.
C)they were instructed to try to imagine how Carol felt.
D)Carol made a direct request for participants' help.

Question 44

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 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 45

"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 46

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 47

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 48

The authors of your text offer three main motives as to why people help others.These motives include all of the following except

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

Question 49

According to research by Dan 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 50

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 51

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 52

Complete the following analogy about helping behavior: rewards outweigh costs: social exchange theory::

A)helping those in need: evolutionary theory.
B)evolutionary theory: empathy-altruism hypothesis.
C)helping others: helping yourself.
D)feeling empathy: empathy-altruism hypothesis.

Question 53

According to Daniel Batson (1991),when people experience empathy with another in need, ____ motivates helping.

A)maximizing rewards and minimizing costs
B)passing their genes to the next generation
C)making a difference in the world
D)helping others independent of self-interest

Question 54

Recall that participants in an experiment by Miho Toi and Daniel 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.Why would Toi and Batson refer to this 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 55

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 56

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

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

Question 57

The basic tenet of ____ is: 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 58

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 59

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 60

In support for the empathy-altruism hypothesis,Miho Toi and Daniel 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 61

When it comes to helping behavior,

A)men are more helpful than women.
B)women are more helpful than men.
C)there is no difference between men and women.
D)either gender might be more helpful,depending on the help needed.

Question 62

Who is more likely to volunteer on a regular basis,according to information presented in your text?

A)Asian Americans
B)men
C)women
D)the elderly

Question 63

Based on information presented by the authors of your text,complete the analogy about gender differences in helping behaviors: men: ____:: women: ____.

A)chivalry; long-term nurturing
B)volunteering; long-term nurturing
C)long-term nurturing; chivalry
D)volunteering; chivalry

Question 64

In order to best predict whether people will help another person,it is best to know something about ____ and ____

A)their personality; the particular situation in question
B)their parents' disciplinary practices; their personality
C)their relationship with the other person; their personality
D)the costs and rewards of helping; the particulars of the situation in question

Question 65

Men are more likely to help in ____,whereas women are likely to help in ____.

A)heroic ways; altruistic ways
B)ways that involve a long-term commitment; heroic ways
C)communal ways; exchange ways
D)heroic ways; ways that involve a long-term commitment

Question 66

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 67

People in non-Western interdependent cultures are more likely than Westerners to help in-group members,but less likely to help out-group members.These findings suggest that in non-Western cultures,the line between

A)altruism and prosocial behavior is unclear.
B)altruism and prosocial behavior is seldom crossed.
C)in groups and out groups is firmly drawn.
D)in groups and out groups is unclear.

Question 68

A(n) ____ group is a group with which individuals identify and of which they feel they are members.

A)peer
B)out
C)reference
D)in

Question 69

According to the gender differences presented by the authors of your text,relatively speaking, ____ would be more likely to help an aging relative with daily tasks than ____.

A)a man; a woman
B)a woman; a man
C)neither gender; the other
D)Caucasian women; Asian men

Question 70

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 evidence recovered was interpreted by anthropologists to suggest that

A)helping behavior is motivated only by rewards.
B)there is no validity to the empathy-altruism hypothesis.
C)humans help others even when there is no reward for doing so.
D)helping behavior has evolved only in the last 2,500 years of human history.

Question 71

The text discusses a cultural value,simpatía,prominent in Spanish-speaking countries.Although simpatía has no direct English translation,it generally refers to

A)being sympathetic.
B)being friendly,polite,and helpful.
C)acting in a paternalistic fashion.
D)being similar in temperament to others around you.

Question 72

Andrew would be more likely to help than Carol in which of the following situations,based purely on the gender differences discussed by the authors of your text?

A)volunteering at a soup kitchen
B)helping a terminally ill relative with daily tasks for several years
C)diving in and saving a child who appears to be drowning
D)donating money to a charity

Question 73

Which of the following is the best example of someone with an altruistic personality?

A)Cassie,who helped her sister learn to read
B)Jack,who donated a kidney to his son
C)Lori,who volunteers her time running a women's shelter and regularly gives to charities
D)Scott,who helps his landlord wash her car so that she will let him have a cat in his apartment

Question 74

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 75

A woman's car is stuck in the snow and she needs a push to get free. ____ is more likely to stop to help her out because ____.

A)A man; the situation calls for sustained helping
B)A woman; the situation calls for sustained helping
C)A man; the situation calls for an act of chivalry
D)A woman; women in general are more altruistic than men

Question 76

Alicia has an altruistic personality.Based on research presented by the authors of your text,if Alicia helps her friend move across town,how likely would she be to buy and donate a toy to a children's charity?

A)very likely
B)extremely unlikely
C)slightly likely
D)neither likely nor unlikely (that is,a zero correlation)

Question 77

A woman has just been in a car accident and needs someone to get her out of her car.A man has AIDS and needs someone to take him to the hospital for ongoing treatments.According to the research on gender differences in prosocial behavior,which of the following is most likely to be true?

A)John is more likely to help the woman; Karen is more likely to help the man.
B)John is more likely to help the man; Karen is more likely to help the woman.
C)John is more likely to help both the man and the woman.
D)John and Karen are equally likely to help both the woman and the man.

Question 78

People in interdependent cultures are

A)more likely than Westerners to help out-group members.
B)more likely than Westerners to engage in prosocial behavior.
C)more likely to help in-group members,but less likely to help out-group members.
D)less like to engaged in heroic acts,but more likely to engage in sustained helping.

Question 79

Research by Levine,Norenzayan,and Philbrick (2000)tested the hypothesis that rates of helping strangers would be higher in countries that valued simpatía.They staged helping incidents in twenty-three large cities and observed whether or not people helped.These researchers found

A)helping was dramatically higher in those countries that valued simpatía.
B)helping tended to be higher in those countries that valued simpatía,but was also high in some countries where this was not a value.
C)no difference in this study,because the helping examined was of strangers rather than of in-group members.
D)no differences in this study,because they examined helping in an urban rather than in a rural setting.

Question 80

You know that Susan is a very helpful person.She spends many hours each week volunteering at a local homeless shelter,she donates a lot of money to charities,and she is always the first person to volunteer to organize something when your group of friends wants to get together.According to the research on the altruistic personality,you ____ that Susan would help carry a neighbor's groceries if the situation arose because ____.

A)can be very sure; individual differences in personality are the most reliable predictors of prosocial behavior
B)can be very sure; anyone would help in this situation
C)cannot be sure; personality is not necessarily the most reliable predictor of prosocial behavior
D)cannot be sure; very few people help others in today's society