Chapter 12:

HELPING
Raquel Nimrod Grace Tragua
Jhon Rian Reden Torrentira
Benjamin Taglucop
Altruism
Altruism is selfishness in reverse. Like an altruistic person is
concerned and helpful even when no benefits are offered or expected
in return.

Chapter 12 is all about Helping and there are questions like why and
when people help? Who will help? And what can be done to lessen
indifference and increase helping?
What might motivate helping?
a)Social Exchange and Social Norms
b)Evolutionary Psychology
c)Comparing and Evaluating Theories of Helping
d)Genuine Altruism
Social Exchange and Social Norms
Human interactions are guided by “social economics.” We exchange
not only material goods and money but also social goods — like love,
services, information, status (Foa & Foa, 1975).

We aim to minimize costs and maximize rewards.

Social-exchange theory does not contend that we consciously monitor

costs and rewards, only that such considerations predict our behavior.
1. REWARDS
Rewards that motivate helping may be external or internal.

External- we give to get.

Internal - makes you feel good about yourself

Weakness in reward theory. It easily degenerates into explaining-by-naming.

(egoism- A motive (supposedly underlying all behavior) to increase one’s own

welfare. The opposite of altruism, which aims to increase another’s welfare.
2. INTERNAL REWARDS
We also need to consider internal factors, such as the helper’s emotional state
or personal traits. The benefits of helping include internal self-rewards. Near
someone in distress, we may feel distress.

Guilt - Throughout recorded history, guilt has been a painful emotion, so

painful that we will act in ways that avoid guilt feelings.

- All in all, guilt leads to much good. By motivating people to confess,

apologize, help, and avoid repeated harm, guilt boosts sensitivity and
sustains close relationships.
Exceptions to the Feel Bad - Do Good scenario - the feel bad–do good
effect occurs with people whose attention is on others, people for whom
altruism is therefore rewarding (Barnett & others, 1980; McMillen &
others, 1977). If they are not self-preoccupied by depression or grief, sad
people are sensitive, helpful people.

Feel Good - Do Good - In a good mood—after being given a gift or while

feeling the warm glow of success—people are more likely to have
positive thoughts and associations with being helpful. Positive thinkers
are likely to be positive actors.
3. SOCIAL NORMS
Often we help others not because we have calculated consciously that
such behavior is in our self-interest but because of a subtler form of
self-interest: because something tells us we ought to.

Researchers who study helping behavior have identified two social

norms that motivate altruism: the reciprocity norm and the social-
responsibility norm.
Reciprocity norm - an expectation that people will help, not hurt, those
who have helped them.

- Politicians know that the one who gives a favor can later expect a
favor. In all such interactions, to receive without giving in return
violates the reciprocity norm.
- Reciprocity within social networks helps define the social capital —
the supportive connections, information flow, trust, and cooperative
actions—that keep a community healthy.
Social-responsibility norm - is the belief that people should help those
who need help, without regard to future exchanges (Berkowitz, 1972;
Schwartz, 1975).

- the social-responsibility norm compels us to help those most in

need and those most deserving.

Gender and Receiving help - men and women are not equal when it
comes to asking help and giving help
Evolutionary Psychology
- Another explanation of helping comes from evolutionary theory.
As you may recall from Chapters 5 and 11, evolutionary
psychology contends that life’s essence is gene survival
- Genetic selfishness should, however, predispose us toward two
specific types of selfless or even self-sacrificial helping: kin
protection and reciprocity.
Kin Protection - Our genes dispose us to care for relatives. Thus, one form of self-
sacrifice that would increase gene survival is devotion to one’s children.

- The point is not that we calculate genetic relatedness before helping but that
nature (as well as culture) programs us to care about close relatives.

Reciprocity - Genetic self-interest also predicts reciprocity.

- Richard Dawkins (1976) offered a similar conclusion: “Let us try to teach

generosity and altruism, because we are born selfish. Let us understand what
our selfish genes are up to, because we may then at least have the chance to
upset their designs, something no other species has ever aspired to.”