Deck 9: Prosocial Behavior

Question 1

How does evolutionary theory explain helping among nonrelatives?

A) Helping among nonrelatives occurs in human groups but not in animal groups, and is not related to the survival of one's genes.
B) Helping among nonrelatives rarely occurs and is often an act of pure altruism.
C) Helping among nonrelatives occurs in order to ensure survival of diverse genes.
D) Helping is often mutual and cooperative, so the helpers benefit by being helped in return.

Answer 1

Helping is often mutual and cooperative, so the helpers benefit by being helped in return.

Question 2

Research by Nancy Segal (2000)supports the concept of inclusive fitness in studies showing that ________ are more alike in their helping patterns and are more likely to aid each other than are ________.

A) identical twins; nonidentical twins
B) nonidentical twins; identical twins
C) second cousins; first cousins
D) brothers; sisters

Answer 2

identical twins; nonidentical twins

Question 3

Alessandro wanted to help the victims of the recent earthquake in Italy.He anonymously established a fund to help the families of the victims.Even inside the banks no one knew who had done this.Alessandro did this without any desire for external or internal rewards.This is an example of

A) pure altruism.
B) intrinsic motivation.
C) extrinsic motivation.
D) philanthropic justification.

Answer 3

pure altruism.

Question 4

The survival of one's genes in one's own offspring and in any relatives one helps is known as

A) reciprocal altruism.
B) genetic determinism.
C) prosocial relatedness.
D) inclusive fitness.

Question 5

Which of the following is true of individuals who were exposed to a larger variety of people while growing up?

A) They are more likely to help strangers.
B) They are more likely to help relatives.
C) They are more likely to help in private than in public.
D) They are less likely to seek help.

Question 6

A cross-cultural examination of helping found that

A) Japanese and Chinese individuals help more than American individuals.
B) American individuals are less willing to help people outside their groups than Japanese and Chinese individuals, but more willing to help people within their own groups than Japanese and Chinese individuals.
C) American individuals are more willing to help people outside their groups than Japanese and Chinese individuals, but less willing to help people within their own groups than Japanese and Chinese individuals.
D) American individuals help more than Japanese or Chinese individuals.

Question 7

Which example best illustrates prosocial behavior as defined by the text?

A) Steve buys himself a new car after getting a promotion.
B) Doug decides to run for mayor because the current mayor is corrupt.
C) John borrows a book from the library without checking it out.
D) Bob donates his 1964 Ford Mustang to the Boy Scouts to help them raise money.

Question 8

If you are a parent who wants your children to develop broadly charitable natures,you should

A) provide your children with training in classical economic theory.
B) provide positive contact in the home with people from a wide spectrum of backgrounds.
C) encourage your children to play with other children similar to them.
D) none of the above

Question 9

All of the following are goals for prosocial behavior EXCEPT

A) to display reactance.
B) to increase social status.
C) to manage our self-image.
D) to manage our moods and emotions.

Question 10

The text discusses inclusive fitness within which goal of helping?

A) managing self-image
B) managing our moods and emotions
C) gaining genetic and material benefits
D) gaining social status and approval

Question 11

According to evolutionary theory,people are more likely to help those to whom they are genetically related.Which of the following cues do people use to determine genetic relatedness?

A) similarity in appearance
B) similarity in attitudes
C) familiarity
D) all of the above

Question 12

We are more likely to help individuals who are similar to us and with whom we have had early contact in the home because

A) we perceive such individuals as more physically attractive.
B) we perceive such individuals as having more charitable personalities.
C) we perceive such individuals as more likely to share our genes.
D) we perceive such individuals as being more likely to reciprocate helping.

Question 13

The concept of ________ refers to the likelihood that one's genetic makeup will be preserved not just in one's life but in future generations.

A) social validation
B) inclusive fitness
C) social comparison
D) reproductive ranging

Question 14

What is a behavioral genetics method for disentangling the effects of heredity and the environment on helping?

A) studying identical and nonidentical twins
B) longitudinal studies
C) comparing individuals from cultures all over the world
D) examining the similarities and differences of various primate species

Question 15

According to Hamilton's concept of inclusive fitness,aid should be most frequently given to

A) strangers, in order to make them friends.
B) close relatives.
C) people with high status and many resources.
D) attractive others.

Question 16

The idea of inclusive fitness suggests that we are especially likely to help others

A) when we are in a good mood.
B) who are similar to us.
C) when people are around to observe our actions.
D) if we're religious.

Question 17

Research has demonstrated that ________ students tend to be ________ prosocial than many other college students.

A) economics; more
B) psychology; less
C) economics; less
D) anthropology; more

Question 18

Helping behavior appears on the surface to be at odds with evolution: helping someone else,such as giving food,might endanger one's own survival.Which of the following statements best clarifies this issue?

A) Helping another person only makes sense if an individual knows that the other person will help you in the future, thus increasing the likelihood of mutual survival.
B) Helping behavior is influenced by cultural factors like socialization but not by genetic factors.
C) The actions of an individual are not so much designed to ensure that the individual will survive as to ensure that the genes of that individual will survive.
D) Helping the opposite sex makes sense if it enhances the chances of mating.

Question 19

The text notes that Sugihara's helping efforts toward European Jews could be attributed,at least in part,to

A) an expanded sense of "we."
B) personal self-interest.
C) the norms of Japanese culture.
D) the reluctance of his parents to invite foreigners in their home.

Question 20

Studies comparing identical and nonidentical twins have revealed that

A) identical and nonidentical twins have similar helping patterns.
B) identical twins are more alike in their helping patterns than are nonidentical twins.
C) genetic factors play little role in the tendency to help.
D) identical and nonidentical twins were equally likely to help each other.

Question 21

Which of the following explanations does the text give for the fact that Catherine Genovese was killed while 38 neighbors observed and none of them helped?

A) Murders happen too often in urban centers like New York City, so residents of urban areas generally don't bother to help.
B) Each of the observers thought that someone else would help.
C) The observers were not aware of the social responsibility norm.
D) The observers were not motivated to help because it would not lead to the survival of their genes.

Question 22

People are ________ likely to help members of their own race than members of another race because ________.

A) less; they are likely to perceive their own race as inferior and less deserving of help
B) less; they are less likely to help similar others
C) more; they are more likely to help similar others
D) more; they gain social status and approval

Question 23

The text discusses the potlatch ceremony as related to which goal of helping?

A) gaining genetic and material benefits
B) managing self-image
C) gaining social status and approval
D) managing our moods and emotions

Question 24

Your text recounts the story of Rabbi Kalisch's answer to the Japanese High Command's question,"Why should we protect you from the Nazis?" The Rabbi's highly effective answer was

A) "Because the Nazis are forcing you."
B) "Because we represent diversity."
C) "Because we're Asian, like you."
D) "Because we need you."

Question 25

How does the phenomenon of diffusion of responsibility relate to the social responsibility norm for helping victims?

A) Diffusion of responsibility is unrelated to the social responsibility norm.
B) Diffusion of responsibility is a phenomenon in which each group member demonstrates a strong willingness to help due to the social responsibility norm.
C) Diffusion of responsibility and social responsibility are identical terms.
D) When many people are present, diffusion of responsibility leads us to think that the victim does not depend on us. Accordingly, the social responsibility norm is weakened for each person.

Question 26

Fran realized that she could no longer accomplish her objectives on her own.She had to decide which of several individuals to call on for help.All other things equal,her best choice would be

A) someone of the opposite sex.
B) someone with large eyes and a small chin.
C) a young person (less than 25 years old).
D) the person most similar to her in appearance.

Question 27

The tendency to help close relatives rather than nonrelatives is much more pronounced

A) in the United States than in Japan when the need is minimal.
B) in the United States than in Japan when the need is life-threatening.
C) in both cultures when the need is life-threatening.
D) in both cultures when the need is minimal.

Question 28

According to the social responsibility norm,we are LESS likely to help when

A) the costs of helping are larger than the rewards.
B) we don't see the needy other as dependent on us for help.
C) we are in front of a mirror.
D) we share genes with the person who needs help.

Question 29

In which of the following circumstances would you be more likely help relatives compared to nonrelatives?

A) They need to be rescued from a burning building.
B) They need you to pick up an item at the store.
C) They need you to lie for them in a social situation.
D) They need you to drive them to work for a week.

Question 30

Your text reports that corporations that give generous donations are generally regarded as

A) foolish.
B) more powerful and successful.
C) wise and shrewd.
D) non-profit organizations.

Question 31

Diffusion of responsibility is

A) the social rule that people should help those who need them to help.
B) the ignorance of social norms such as the social responsibility norm.
C) the tendency for each group member to spread the responsibility for acting among all other group members.
D) the reduced likelihood that an emergency will be interpreted as such when a large number of people are present.

Question 32

Jonathan is in a life-threatening emergency situation and needs help.Which of the following people is most likely to want to help him?

A) Dan, who is his close friend
B) Shinobu, who is from a collectivistic culture
C) Sheldon, who is a familiar co-worker
D) Jeffrey, who is his brother

Question 33

Fundraisers have learned that donations are particularly likely to be given when people are alerted to the existence of

A) the great magnitude of a problem.
B) a vulnerable population suffering, such as children or the elderly.
C) a single, personalized representative of the needy group.
D) a problem that may be reduced with minor effort, if everyone gives just a little.

Question 34

When attempting to convince others to help us,it makes sense to convince them that

A) we are different from them.
B) we are superior to them.
C) we are similar to them.
D) we are older than they are.

Question 35

The social rule that people should help those who need help is called

A) the diffusion of responsibility norm.
B) the social responsibility norm.
C) bystander intervention.
D) inclusive fitness.

Question 36

Imagine that you participate in an experiment where you are in a private cubicle from which you communicate with other students over an intercom.Suddenly you hear over the intercom that a student is starting to have an epileptic seizure.According to research,you will be most likely to leave your cubicle and try to help if

A) you are the only person who can hear the seizure.
B) there is one other person connected to the intercom who can hear the seizure.
C) there are four other people connected to the intercom who can hear the seizure.
D) you don't know the person who is having the seizure.

Question 37

Your text offers practical advice when it recommends that if you must decide which of several individuals to call on for help,all other things equal,your best choice would be

A) someone of the opposite sex.
B) someone with large eyes and a small chin.
C) a young person (less than 25 years old).
D) the person most similar to you in appearance.

Question 38

The tendency of an onlooker to be less likely to help in an emergency if there are other onlookers present is known as

A) social responsibility norm violation.
B) the bystander effect.
C) diffusion of responsibility.
D) pluralistic ignorance.

Question 39

Experiments conducted by Darley and Latané demonstrated that the greater the number of people who witness a victim in an emergency,

A) the more similar to us we perceive the victim.
B) the less likely it is that any one observer will help.
C) the more likely it is that any one observer will help.
D) the less similar to us we perceive the victim.

Question 40

The social responsibility norm states that

A) we should help those in need who are dependent on our help.
B) we should help those who are similar.
C) we must help our kin.
D) we must be responsible for our own actions, even when part of a group.

Question 41

In a study of charitable giving and volunteering in the United States,87 percent of the people surveyed said that the reason they contributed was that helping was consistent with their personal values.These findings suggest that people often help in order to

A) manage their mood.
B) gain genetic benefits.
C) gain material benefits.
D) enhance and verify their self-image.

Question 42

Early social psychological experiments found that men helped more than women because the experiments

A) focused on helping via emotional support.
B) examined how people help their friends.
C) were all conducted by male experimenters.
D) studied helping strangers in emergency situations.

Question 43

Bystanders can influence the decision to help in three ways.Which of the following is NOT one of them?

A) by serving as sources of potential help
B) by serving as sources of information about whether helping is required
C) by serving as sources of social and normative reactivity
D) by serving as sources of approval or disapproval of helping action

Question 44

In one study demonstrating the pluralistic ignorance effect,researchers pumped smoke through a vent into a laboratory where participants were filling out a questionnaire.The results of the study indicated that participants were most likely to report the smoke when

A) they were in the room alone.
B) they were in the room with two other participants.
C) they believed that the smoke was a "truth gas" intended to extract honest answers to the questionnaire.
D) they were in the room with two confederates who acted as though there was no cause for alarm.

Question 45

Men were found to be more helpful than women

A) when providing direct help in an emergency.
B) when providing informal counseling on personal problems.
C) when helping a friend rather than a stranger.
D) when helping involves small costs and large rewards.

Question 46

Personal norms are

A) norms about which behaviors are approved by the society.
B) internal standards for particular behavior.
C) descriptive norms of how to behave in social situations.
D) all of the above

Question 47

Which of the following is NOT likely to increase helping?

A) greater salience of the social responsibility norm
B) presence of other people who can potentially help
C) inclusive fitness
D) religious beliefs held by the helper

Question 48

People are most likely to cite which of the following as a reason for engaging in prosocial behavior?

A) personal norms
B) parental example
C) having received help in the past
D) a prior personal or medical crisis

Question 49

Shotland and Straw (1976)simulated a potential emergency where a physical confrontation between a man and a woman occurred.They found that

A) helping behaviors by women were more frequent than helping behaviors by men.
B) helping behaviors by men were more frequent than helping behaviors by women.
C) observers assumed that the two were romantically involved, and did not help due to fear of social disapproval.
D) observers assumed that the two were strangers, and did not help due to fear of social disapproval.

Question 50

Your text gives practical advice for a woman who is physically confronted or attacked by a man in a public place.In order to receive help,it is recommended that the woman shout

A) "I don't know why I ever married you!"
B) "I don't know you!"
C) "I know why you are doing this!"
D) "I don't know why we can't get along!"

Question 51

Regarding the effect of social approval on helping behavior,research has shown that

A) students high in need for approval are more likely to help members of their own race.
B) students high in need for approval are more likely to help others in public.
C) students high in need for approval are more likely to help others in public and in private.
D) very young children (under 6 years) are more likely to help others when adults are present than when they are alone.

Question 52

The presence of other people is likely to increase helping in emergency situations when

A) the situation is ambiguous.
B) the people who are present act alarmed.
C) diffusion of responsibility occurs.
D) pluralistic ignorance occurs.

Question 53

Individuals with a high need for approval are more likely to help when others are ________.This suggests that helping others can be a way to ________.

A) present; relieve frustrations
B) present; improve our social standing
C) not present; manage our moods and emotions
D) not present; benefit another in a purely altruistic way

Question 54

Tomarkin had donated several times during the course of the year when an earthquake struck in a neighboring state.He gave generously to the relief fund.When a tsunami hit one of the Japanese islands,he also gave generously to aid the victims.Then forest fires left many people in California homeless.Once again,Tomarkin aided the relief effort.Although the frequent help didn't elevate Tomarkin's view of himself as helpful,it did make him more confident that he is a helpful individual.This is an example of

A) self-image enhancement.
B) self-image construction.
C) self-image reconstruction.
D) self-image verification.

Question 55

Observers often fail to help in an emergency because they are uncertain

A) of whether helping is appropriate.
B) if they are responsible for providing help.
C) how to help.
D) all of the above

Question 56

The phenomenon of pluralistic ignorance is one in which bystanders in an emergency tend to

A) suddenly forget what they know regarding delivering aid in emergency situations, due to overwhelming stress.
B) become "paralyzed" in emergency situations, due to overwhelming empathy for the person in the emergency situation.
C) perpetuate the mistakes of others while caring for a person in an emergency situation.
D) look around at other people who don't appear alarmed, and assume there's no emergency after all.

Question 57

A study showed that Los Angeles motorists were more likely to stop and help the driver of a disabled car if they had witnessed another motorist doing the same thing a quarter mile before.This study demonstrated the effect of ________ on helping.

A) population density
B) the interplay between individual and small group helping norms
C) making the norm of helping more conscious or prominent
D) exclusive fitness

Question 58

Who is likely to help more,women or men?

A) Women, because they are socialized to be kinder and more compassionate.
B) Men, because they are socialized to exert heroic efforts on behalf of others.
C) It depends on whether the required help conforms to the socially approved feminine or masculine gender role.
D) It depends on the number of bystanders present.

Question 59

Relative to individuals living in rural areas,individuals living in urban areas are ________ helpful because ________.

A) more; the social responsibility norm is more salient
B) more; pluralistic ignorance is less likely to occur
C) less; the stimulus overload in dense populations causes people to close themselves off
D) less; the size of the big city creates an expanded sense of "self" for most individuals

Question 60

Sometimes onlookers fail to assist in an emergency because each person in the group decides that the situation is not really an emergency because no one else is acting alarmed or helping.This phenomenon is known as

A) diffusion of responsibility.
B) pluralistic ignorance.
C) social facilitation.
D) social responsibility norm violation.

Question 61

All of the following activities render individuals more self-focused and more likely to help others EXCEPT

A) posing for a photograph.
B) thinking about a recent personal failure.
C) filling out a personal questionnaire.
D) looking in a mirror.

Question 62

We are LESS likely to help our friends

A) who are similar to us.
B) who have low self-esteem.
C) after personal success.
D) when this would make them perform better than us on a task we care about.

Question 63

After posing for a photograph,Sarah would be ________ likely to help a student who dropped his papers because posing for the photograph would have made Sarah ________.

A) less; more self-important
B) more; more selfless
C) less; concerned with inclusive fitness
D) more; self-focused

Question 64

Sometimes people will refuse to ask for and accept needed help in order to

A) preserve their expanded sense of "we."
B) maintain positive self-regard.
C) maintain inclusive fitness.
D) avoid being accused of pluralistic ignorance.

Question 65

Your text states that the cornerstone of the ________ model of helping is a desire to reduce the distress one feels when observing suffering.

A) distress/benefit
B) arousal/cost-reward
C) two-factor
D) cognitive-emotive

Question 66

Which of the following statements is TRUE regarding gender and asking for help?

A) Men who adhere to traditional gender roles are less likely to ask for help.
B) Men are more likely to ask for help regarding traditionally masculine tasks, but women are more likely to ask for help regarding traditionally feminine tasks.
C) Biological differences most likely underlie gender differences in asking for help.
D) Boys and girls are equally likely to ask for help, but gender differences emerge in adulthood.

Question 67

Research has shown that the influence of having people look in a mirror

A) increased helpfulness.
B) decreased helpfulness.
C) increased helpfulness for those who thought they had done well on a test, but decreased helpfulness for those who thought they had done poorly on a test.
D) decreased helpfulness for those who thought they had done well on a test, but increased helpfulness for those who thought they had done poorly on a test.

Question 68

In a research study,participants who did poorly on a task were given a chance to give clues to help a friend and a stranger perform the same task.The results of the study indicated that participants gave better clues to

A) a stranger than to a friend when the task was described as an indicator of intellectual ability.
B) a stranger than to a friend when the task was described as just a game.
C) a friend than to a stranger when the task was described as an indicator of intellectual ability.
D) a friend than to a stranger regardless of how the task was described.

Question 69

You want to ask your kindhearted friend Rita to donate to a charity.As a savvy social psychologist,you wait and make your request when

A) Rita is going into her most difficult class.
B) Rita is looking in the mirror.
C) Rita is making dinner for ten people.
D) Rita is looking for her lost contact lens.

Question 70

Your sibling is training to make a spot on a sports team.According to research by Tesser and colleagues,in which of the following situations would you be LESS likely to help your sibling train?

A) if doing well in that sport is highly relevant to your self-concept
B) if your sibling is very unlikely to make the team
C) if you don't think that sports are important or worth spending time doing
D) if your sibling asks you directly for help

Question 71

You are an elementary school teacher who wants to increase the amount of helping your students give to each other.According to research on labeling effects,which of the following strategies is likely to be successful?

A) Put several mirrors in the classroom.
B) Punish the children when they are not helpful.
C) Tell the children that they are not helpful in order to induce reactance.
D) Tell the children that they are kind and helpful.

Question 72

In a cross-cultural study (Gergen et al,1975),individuals who received money from another person ________ when that person asked for repayment,compared to when that person didn't ask for repayment.

A) liked the person less
B) liked the person more
C) were more likely to pay the money back
D) were less likely to pay the money back

Question 73

According to the textbook,high self-esteem people are less likely to seek help than low self-esteem people

A) when they are learning a new task.
B) because they don't need to manage their moods that way.
C) when getting help might make them look less competent.
D) because they rarely believe that they need help.

Question 74

Personal norms are different from social norms in that personal norms

A) are less likely to influence helping.
B) have a strong genetic basis, but social norms do not.
C) rarely change, whereas social norms change rapidly.
D) reflect internal standards for behavior, whereas social norms reflect moral rules of a culture.

Question 75

Which of the following concepts best helps to explain how labeling influences people's helping behavior?

A) James' stream of consciousness
B) Cooley's "looking glass self"
C) increased self-focus
D) actual-ideal self discrepancy

Question 76

People who are in need frequently do not request help.The primary reason for this phenomenon is summed up by Marcel Mauss,who stated,

A) "Charity is better spent than saved."
B) "Charity, when received, is without bounds."
C) "Charity wounds him who receives."
D) "Charity is in the eye of the beholder."

Question 77

Self-focus is LESS likely to increase helping when

A) we think about a personal problem or failure experience.
B) we are in a happy mood.
C) we have high self-esteem.
D) the person who needs help is similar to us.

Question 78

Social psychologists have recognized that labeling can increase helping

A) only in children.
B) only in public.
C) only immediately after receiving the prosocial label.
D) none of the above

Question 79

People possessing a strong religious code appear to help in order to

A) increase their inclusive fitness.
B) manage their self-image.
C) manage their mood and emotions.
D) receive reciprocal favor.

Question 80

Which of the following groups is LESS likely to seek needed help?

A) people with low self-esteem as opposed to high self-esteem
B) people who have recently turned 60
C) women as opposed to men
D) children under age 6 or younger as opposed to children ages 7-8