Deck 14: Altruism and Cooperation

Question 1

According to Batson's theory about the motives that produce altruistic action,only one motive is NOT selfish.That motive is

A) affiliation.
B) personal distress.
C) empathic concern.
D) reciprocity.

Answer 1

empathic concern.

Question 2

When we help others in order to receive positive attention or gratitude,we are motivated by ________,but when we help others because we identify with people in need,we are motivated by ________.

A) reciprocity; social rewards
B) personal distress; empathic concern
C) sympathy; empathy
D) social rewards; empathic concern

Answer 2

social rewards; empathic concern

Question 3

In their research on motives for altruism,Batson and his colleagues (1986)found that

A) people were less likely to feel empathy toward a single person than toward a group of people.
B) most people volunteered to alleviate another person's pain when they felt high levels of personal distress.
C) people only expressed empathy in response to people who were physically attractive.
D) people who felt more empathy were more likely to volunteer to alleviate another person's pain.

Answer 3

people who felt more empathy were more likely to volunteer to alleviate another person's pain.

Question 4

Imagine your car breaks down on a street late at night.According to research on culture and altruism,you are more likely to receive help

A) on the U.S. West Coast than on the U.S. East Coast.
B) in a town with 60,000 residents than a town with 120,000 residents.
C) in an urban setting than in a rural setting.
D) in a town with 1,000 residents than a town with 5,000 residents.

Question 5

All the following victim characteristics are likely to increase helping EXCEPT

A) bleeding.
B) screaming for help.
C) being similar to a potential helper.
D) unambiguous need.

Question 6

Research suggests that the greater the number of individuals who witness a person in trouble,________ the person in need.

A) the more likely it is that any one person will help
B) the more sympathy any one person will feel toward
C) the less likely it is that any one person will help
D) the less sympathy any one person will feel toward

Question 7

Recall that Kitty Genovese was brutally murdered in front of several eyewitnesses who did not intervene or call for help.According to social psychologists,this failure to assist Kitty was due to

A) the selfish nature of human beings.
B) a diffusion of responsibility.
C) inclusive fitness effects.
D) deficits in empathy.

Question 8

Imagine that you witness a car plowing into a pedestrian.Research on bystander intervention suggests that you are most likely to offer help if there

A) is only one other eyewitness.
B) are two other eyewitnesses.
C) are six other eyewitnesses.
D) are eight other eyewitnesses.

Question 9

In one study,Batson and his colleagues (1983,1991)manipulated whether participants were feeling more or less empathic when evaluating another person,and then they asked participants if they would help the person in the future.Some participants thought that both the experimenter and the person needing help knew their decisions (i.e.,helping was made public),but other participants thought that their responses were anonymous.The results showed that

A) when helping was made public, low-empathy participants helped just as much as high-empathy participants.
B) low-empathy participants helped more when helping was public, but high-empathy participants helped more when helping was anonymous.
C) high-empathy participants helped more than low-empathy participants, even when helping was anonymous.
D) low empathy participants said they would help more when the helping was public, but they did not follow through on their promises.

Question 10

Ada is sitting in class when smoke starts to filter into the room.She looks around and nobody else seems to be doing anything about it.According to research described in the textbook,Ada is

A) likely to report the smoke to the professor in order to appear smart and observant.
B) likely to construe the smoke as dangerous if there are many other students in the room.
C) unlikely to report the smoke to the professor because she suspects she is in a research study.
D) unlikely to report the smoke to the professor for fear of embarrassing herself in front of the class.

Question 11

In one experiment,a "victim" (actually a confederate)staggered across the aisle of a subway car,collapsed to the floor,and then stared up at the ceiling.In one condition,the victim was bleeding,while in another condition,he was not.Results showed that the

A) presence of blood neither increased nor decreased the victim's chances of receiving help.
B) presence of blood increased the victim's chances of receiving help from men, but the presence of blood decreased the victim's chances of receiving help from women.
C) victim was more likely to get help when he was bleeding.
D) victim was less likely to get help when he was bleeding.

Question 12

Brown and her colleagues (2003)conducted longitudinal research on volunteerism in elderly couples.What did they find about the connection between volunteerism and health?

A) People who received help from others were less likely to die over the course of the study.
B) People who helped others were less likely to die over the course of the study.
C) People who helped others were healthier throughout the study, but there was no connection with mortality rates.
D) People who received help from others were healthier than people who spent their time helping others.

Question 13

If you want to increase the odds that you will get help when you are in need,which of the following actions should you take?

A) single out a specific person and ask him or her for help
B) move to a big city
C) do not explain your problem
D) remain quiet and calm

Question 14

In one experiment,smoke filtered into a room when participants were filling out a questionnaire.Results indicated that participants were most likely to report the smoke to the experimenter when they were in the room

A) with the experimenter.
B) alone.
C) with two calm confederates.
D) with two other study participants.

Question 15

Of the following individuals,who would be most likely to volunteer to take homework to a group of injured children in the hospital?

A) Anne, who shows little emotion when she learns about the children's situation
B) Dani, who shows a concerned gaze and a slowing of her heart rate when she learns about the children's situation
C) Gabby, who shows a painful wince in the face and an increased heart rate when she learns about the children's situation
D) Tina, who frowns when she learns about the children's situation

Question 16

The concept of altruism refers to

A) behavior that enhances the survival of one's own genes.
B) unselfish behavior that benefits others without regard to consequences for the self.
C) feelings of compassion toward a needy other.
D) an action intended to benefit both the self and someone else at the same time.

Question 17

Janet is sitting in the front of the bus when she hears someone cry out from the back of the bus.Research suggests that she is more likely to help this person if

A) she is in a rush.
B) she is worried about an upcoming test.
C) the bus is crowded.
D) the person yells, "Help me!"

Question 18

Stephen notices that Jenny is sitting by herself in the cafeteria,crying.Watching her cry makes Stephen feel upset,so he goes over to try to comfort her.Stephen's behavior is likely motivated by the ________ motive for helping others.

A) affiliative
B) personal distress
C) empathic concern
D) reciprocity

Question 19

Daniel Batson has argued that there are three main motives for helping others.They are

A) reciprocity, kin selection, and social rewards.
B) social rewards, personal distress, and empathic concern.
C) sympathy, reputational advantages, and reciprocity.
D) personal distress, sympathy, and empathic concern.

Question 20

Talia is providing nonmonetary assistance to others with no expectation of receiving any compensation in return.Talia is engaging in

A) volunteerism.
B) kin selection.
C) empathic helping.
D) reciprocity.

Question 21

In which of the following situations would someone be most likely to help,instead of falling victim to the bystander effect?

A) Marty walks into a busy gas station to find a customer lying on the floor.
B) Julio is walking in a large crowd in New York City when he sees a man slumped on a staircase.
C) Matt watches as a man in a park grabs at his chest, screams that he is in pain, and falls over.
D) Jacques hears a loud noise and glances out his apartment window at a crowd looking at a man slumped over against a car in the parking lot.

Question 22

According to the evolutionary perspective,altruism toward non-kin

A) is a purely selfless act.
B) does not exist.
C) follows rules related to reciprocity.
D) is unrelated to gaining social rewards.

Question 23

Which of the following characteristics or behaviors of a player in the prisoner's dilemma game does NOT increase his or her partner's cooperation?

A) listening to other attentively
B) cooperating in a quick spontaneous fashion
C) sharing a physical resemblance
D) All of the answers are correct.

Question 24

Researchers have offered three explanations for the rural-urban difference in helping rates.Which of the following is NOT one of those three explanations?

A) People who choose to live in cities are less empathic than people who live in rural areas.
B) People who live in cities experience stimulus overload and are less likely to notice others who may need help.
C) Urban areas are more diverse, and we are less likely to help people who are different from ourselves.
D) There are more people around in urban compared with rural areas, so there is more risk of diffusion of responsibility occurring.

Question 25

Evidence that humans and nonhuman animals have a highly developed capacity to recognize their relatives supports the idea of

A) exclusive fitness.
B) mate preferences.
C) parental investment.
D) kin selection.

Question 26

Which of the following statements is true concerning religion and altruism?

A) Religious people are more altruistic than atheists.
B) Atheists are more altruistic than religious people.
C) Priming people with religious ideas increases altruism.
D) Priming people with words related to secular institutions decreases altruism.

Question 27

Peter helps Charles with his homework with the expectation that Charles will be likely to help Peter in return at some other time.Evolutionary psychologists refer to this behavior as

A) mutual helping.
B) the prisoner's dilemma.
C) reciprocal altruism.
D) kin selection.

Question 28

Recall that Steblay (1987)reviewed 35 studies that compared helping rates in rural and urban environments.What did she find?

A) Women help more in urban areas, but men help more in rural areas.
B) People are more likely to receive help in rural areas than in urban areas.
C) People are more likely to receive help in urban areas than in rural areas.
D) People are more likely to help friends in urban areas, but more likely to help strangers in rural areas.

Question 29

The textbook describes a study in which participants were primed with either religious concepts or neutral words and then asked if they would be willing to give money away.The results showed that participants who were primed with religious concepts,compared to those primed with neutral words,chose to give

A) less money to a relative.
B) more money to a relative but not a stranger.
C) less money to a stranger.
D) more money to a stranger.

Question 30

In many industrialized nations,strong social norms dictate efforts to behave in a cool,calm,and collected manner in public,especially during emergencies.Unfortunately,this norm can promote

A) reciprocal indifference.
B) altruism.
C) pluralistic ignorance.
D) bystander intervention.

Question 31

Sometimes eyewitnesses fail to help someone because (a)they are uncertain about what is happening and (b)they assume that nothing is wrong because no one else seems to be alarmed.This phenomenon is called

A) pluralistic ignorance.
B) diffusion of responsibility.
C) a social responsibility violation.
D) social loafing.

Question 32

Which of the following findings supports the concept of reciprocal altruism?

A) Human mothers can recognize their new babies from photographs, even when they have had little contact with the babies.
B) Across cultures, people are more willing to help closely related individuals than strangers.
C) Chimpanzees will share food with other primates who share with them.
D) Identical twins cooperate more when working together compared to fraternal twins.

Question 33

You volunteer to participate in a game in which you are told that you and another participant,whom you will never meet but is playing nearby,must each make a decision: either you cooperate and benefit both of you,or you defect and benefit only yourself.Depending on what you and the other person choose,you stand to receive a certain amount of money.You are participating in the ________ game.

A) cooperation
B) prisoner's dilemma
C) ultimatum
D) decision

Question 34

Diffusion of responsibility entails

A) being unaware of cultural norms that promote helping behavior.
B) overestimating one's own responsibility for the welfare of others.
C) assuming that other people who are present during an emergency will provide help to a victim.
D) underestimating the harmfulness of a situation.

Question 35

According to the textbook,upper-class individuals are on average less altruistic than lower-class individuals.What is one research-supported way this trend can be neutralized?

A) By pointing out to upper-class people how well off they are.
B) By modeling altruism off of other upper-class people, such as Bill Gates.
C) By offering upper-class individuals gifts and asking them to pay it forward.
D) By inducing more empathetic concern in upper-class people.

Question 36

Which of the following will NOT lead to a greater likelihood of being helped?

A) crying out dramatically that you have been injured
B) singling out a specific person and asking him or her to help you
C) being in a group with your friends
D) staying calm so that you do not alarm passersby

Question 37

The concept of ________ refers to the tendency for natural selection to favor behaviors that increase the chances of survival of genetic relatives.

A) exclusive fitness
B) mate preferences
C) parental investment
D) kin selection

Question 38

What does research suggest about the connection between social class and altruism?

A) People who are wealthy give a higher proportion of their incomes to charity.
B) People who are not wealthy give a higher proportion of their incomes to charity.
C) People who are wealthy give more to charity, as long as they live in rural areas.
D) People who are wealthy do not give more to charity, but they show higher levels of empathic concern for those in need.

Question 39

Which of the following examples does NOT support the concept of kin selection?

A) Friends jump into a river to save a drowning friend, but all of them die.
B) Across cultures, people are more willing to help closely related individuals than strangers.
C) A ground squirrel will put itself in danger to warn another genetically related squirrel of danger.
D) Identical twins cooperate more when working together than do fraternal twins.

Question 40

A group of people who observe a bicycle accident try to help the victim of that emergency.This is an example of

A) reciprocal empathy.
B) eyewitness altruism.
C) bystander intervention.
D) diffusion of responsibility.

Question 41

According to the textbook,what does being reminded of religion,being poor,and being exposed to violence have in common,which may create a culture conducive to cooperation?

A) Each fosters interdependence.
B) Each fosters independence.
C) Each fosters self-sufficiency.
D) Each causes self-reflection on the important aspects of life.

Question 42

Henrich and his colleagues (2001)recruited individuals from 15 different small societies to play the ultimatum game.They found that individuals from cultures where people ________ offered more money to the responder.

A) are more competitive
B) need to collaborate with others to survive
C) are more independent
D) are more altruistic

Question 43

In the ________ strategy for the prisoner's dilemma game,an individual cooperates in the first round,and in all later rounds mimics the other person's behavior.

A) competitive
B) cooperative
C) tit-for-tat
D) evolutionary

Question 44

Alex and Janet are playing ten rounds of a prisoner's dilemma game.If Janet is following the tit-for-tat strategy,what choices should she make across the ten rounds being played?

A) Janet should choose to be competitive and defect in every round.
B) Janet should always do exactly what Alex does.
C) Janet should be cooperative on the first round, and then mimic Alex's choices.
D) Janet should begin by defecting, and then alternate between defecting and cooperating on each following round.

Question 45

How does playing multiple rounds of the prisoner's dilemma game,instead of just one,change the way the game is played?

A) A single defection by either side will start a spiral of defections, thus making the multiple round game less cooperative.
B) People are more likely to defect on the first round when playing more rounds.
C) The best strategy when playing many rounds is to always cooperate.
D) Playing more rounds makes people more cooperative.

Question 46

Robert Axelrod has argued that the success of the tit-for-tat strategy is due to five principles: the strategy is cooperative,not envious,

A) forgiving, not exploitable, and hard to read.
B) forgiving, exploitable, and hard to read.
C) forgiving, not exploitable, and easy to read.
D) unforgiving, not exploitable, and easy to read.

Question 47

Nick has been subliminally exposed to the word "hostile," Dan to the word "house," and Felix to the word "hungry." Which of these men is most likely to defect on a majority of the trials in a prisoner's dilemma game?

A) Nick
B) Dan
C) Felix
D) None of these men is likely to defect on a majority of trials.

Question 48

In the arms race between India and Pakistan,each country must decide whether to keep building up its own arsenal or to stop spending money on arms and try to reach peace with the other country.Both will benefit most if each stops building up armaments,but each country is worried that if it stops spending money on weapons,the other one will keep buying weapons and gain an advantage.This situation is a real-world example of the

A) reciprocal altruism principle.
B) prisoner's dilemma.
C) ultimatum game.
D) dictator game.

Question 49

The collective beliefs,evaluations,and impressions other people hold about an individual are referred to as his or her

A) personal construal.
B) reputation.
C) self-schema.
D) interaction history.

Question 50

Lauren is participating in research involving the prisoner's dilemma,but she has been told it is called the "Wall Street" game.David is participating in the same experiment,but he has been told the game is called the "community" game.How are these labels likely to affect their decisions?

A) David will focus on maximizing his own profits because men are more competitive.
B) David is more likely to be competitive in the first round of the game, whereas Lauren is more likely to cooperate.
C) The labels will not influence their decisions in the game.
D) Lauren is more likely to be competitive in the first round of the game, whereas David is more likely to cooperate.

Question 51

The Machiguenga people of Peru collaborate little with others outside their family,whereas the Lamerala people of Indonesia collaborate extensively in fishing.Which group of people would we expect to give more money or resources to a stranger?

A) Neither group would give money or resources to a stranger.
B) The Lamerala would give more.
C) The Machiguenga would give more.
D) Both would give equal amounts.

Question 52

Which of the following is NOT true concerning the tit-for-tat strategy and how it fared in Robert Axelrod's 200-round prisoner's dilemma tournament?

A) The tit-for-tat strategy won each round when pitted against any other strategy.
B) The tit-for-tat strategy was the best strategy overall against a diversity of other strategies.
C) The tit-for-tat strategy is not exploitable.
D) The tit-for-tat strategy is easy to read.

Question 53

Trina is a straight-A student who takes detailed notes.Before an exam,four other students approach Trina and ask if she is willing to share her notes with them.Based on research on the situational determinants of cooperation,with whom is Trina most likely to share her notes?

A) Randy, who often studies with Trina
B) Sean, who is also a straight-A student
C) Lenny, who rarely interacts with Trina
D) Kelly, who never comes to class

Question 54

Jane plays the prisoner's dilemma game while in an fMRI scanner.If Jane chooses to cooperate during the game,she is likely to exhibit increased activation in the same brain region that is activated when she

A) looks at pictures of wounded veterans.
B) tastes something sweet.
C) looks at photos of outgroup members.
D) looks at pictures of tropical vacations, and when she tastes something sweet.

Question 55

Mateo's group of friends tends to engage in a fair amount of gossip,whereas Felipe's group of friends never gossips.Based on research on gossip,which of the two groups of friends would you expect to be more cooperative,and why?

A) Mateo's group of friends, because gossip increases their empathic concern
B) Mateo's group of friends, because the threat of being gossiped about makes them less likely to behave selfishly
C) Felipe's group of friends, because they are more concerned about not hurting people's feelings
D) Felipe's group of friends, because they are likely more independent

Question 56

Of the following individuals,who is most likely to behave in a cooperative way?

A) Avery, who is an economics major
B) Carlos, who is in a hurry
C) Lillian, who has just observed someone else being cooperative
D) Rashid, who has just observed someone else being competitive

Question 57

In the typical prisoner's dilemma game,which of the following strategies would bring you the best immediate personal outcome as a participant?

A) Both you and your partner cooperate.
B) Both you and your partner defect.
C) You defect, and your partner cooperates.
D) You cooperate, and your partner defects.

Question 58

Research suggests that,in comparison to students who major in other subjects,students who major in economics are on average

A) more likely to take advantage of public services themselves but less likely to donate little to support public services.
B) less likely to use public services themselves and donate little to support public services.
C) more likely to generously support public services and take advantage of these services themselves.
D) more likely to generously support public services but less likely to utilize these services themselves.

Question 59

Which of the following statements best captures political scientist Robert Axelrod's perspective on cooperation?

A) Given its universality and emergence in the most unlikely of social contexts, cooperation must be part of our evolutionary heritage.
B) Cooperation is common during peaceful times but rare during wartime.
C) Humans are naturally self-interested, but they can become more cooperative through socialization practices.
D) Cooperation is generally a risky strategy because it leaves people vulnerable to exploitation.

Question 60

In one study,students majoring in economics were more likely to ________ when playing the prisoner's dilemma game,compared with students majoring in other disciplines.

A) defect
B) cooperate
C) quit
D) challenge

Question 61

Imagine that you have lost your wallet.Where would you be more likely to receive help,in a large city or in a small rural town? Justify your answer on the basis of research and theory.

Question 62

What is kin selection,and how is it relevant to explaining and predicting altruism?

Question 63

Is the altruism toward non-kin consistent with evolutionary theory? Why or why not?

Question 64

Describe a hypothetical scenario in which a person needs help but is unlikely to receive it due to diffusion of responsibility.Next,list two things that the person could say or do to increase his or her odds of receiving help.

Question 65

Describe how pluralistic ignorance impacts altruism and explain why seeing other people's facial expressions can reduce the effects of pluralistic ignorance.

Question 66

Describe how you could draw on the principles of contagion and mimicry to design an intervention to increase cooperation among the students in an elementary school classroom,and explain why you think it would be effective.

Question 67

Drawing on research described in the textbook,evaluate the idea that religion makes people more altruistic.

Question 68

Define reputation and explain how knowledge of other people's reputations influences cooperation.

Question 69

Drawing on research described in the textbook,evaluate the idea that gossip is a negative behavior that people should avoid.

Question 70

Describe the tit-for-tat strategy and evaluate its effectiveness.

Question 71

Give an example of how construal processes can influence cooperation.

Question 72

How do upper- and lower-class individuals differ when it comes to empathy and altruism,and what accounts for this difference?

Question 73

The textbook describes several studies that compare people's behavior in the prisoner's dilemma game across countries.Together,these studies suggest three characteristics common in people who choose to cooperate in the game.Name two of these three characteristics and discuss why these might lead people to cooperate in the prisoner's dilemma game.

Question 74

Describe the three motives for altruism proposed by Daniel Batson and explain how empathic concern can be distinguished from the other two motives.

Question 75

Explain the basic concept of the prisoner's dilemma.How is the example of the India-Pakistan arms race,as described in the textbook,a real-world example of the prisoner's dilemma?