Social Psychology – Chapter 9 – Prosocial Behavior
Why People Help: Motves or Prosocial Behavior
Empathy-Altruism: It Feels Good to Help Others
Empathy – the capacity to be able to experience other´s emotonal statess eel sympathetc
toward thems and take their perspectve (no automatc process)
Emotonal emaah y – involves sharing the eelings & emotons o others (emotonal
aspect)
Emaah ic accuracy – involves perceiving others´ thoughts & eelings accurately
(cognitve component)
Emaah ic concern – involves eelings o concern or another´s well-being
these components are related to diferent aspects o prosocial behavior & have
diferent long-term efects
high level o empathic accuracy getting along well with others
Empathy-altruism hypothesis – suggests that at least some prosocial acts are motvated
solely by the desire to help someone in need
Mirror Neurons: A Biological Foundaton or Emaah y – and Helaing Oh ers
The higher an individual´s capacity to experience empathys the greater the actvity in
mirror neuron system
o ASD: reduced capacity to experience empathy reduced actvity in mirror
neuron system
o Motor neurons: only actvated when observing emotons
o Compassion training increases actvity in mirror neuron regions
Negatve-State Relie : Helping Can Reduce nnpleasant Feelings
Negative-state relie� model – engagement in a prosocial act primarily as a way to improve
one’s own negatve mood
Empathic Joy: Feeling Good by Helping Others
Empathic joy hypothesis – suggests that helpers enjoy the positve reactons shown by
others whom they help
Crucial or helper to know that actons had positve impact on the victm
Functonal relatons ia – link between helping others and eeling positve emotons
exists everywheres but is stronger in some cultures
Compettve Altruism: Why Nice People Sometmes Finish First
Competitive altruism – important reason that people help others is that doing so boosts
their own status and reputatons and ultmately brings them large benefts
Why People Help: Motves or Prosocial Behavior
Empathy-Altruism: It Feels Good to Help Others
Empathy – the capacity to be able to experience other´s emotonal statess eel sympathetc
toward thems and take their perspectve (no automatc process)
Emotonal emaah y – involves sharing the eelings & emotons o others (emotonal
aspect)
Emaah ic accuracy – involves perceiving others´ thoughts & eelings accurately
(cognitve component)
Emaah ic concern – involves eelings o concern or another´s well-being
these components are related to diferent aspects o prosocial behavior & have
diferent long-term efects
high level o empathic accuracy getting along well with others
Empathy-altruism hypothesis – suggests that at least some prosocial acts are motvated
solely by the desire to help someone in need
Mirror Neurons: A Biological Foundaton or Emaah y – and Helaing Oh ers
The higher an individual´s capacity to experience empathys the greater the actvity in
mirror neuron system
o ASD: reduced capacity to experience empathy reduced actvity in mirror
neuron system
o Motor neurons: only actvated when observing emotons
o Compassion training increases actvity in mirror neuron regions
Negatve-State Relie : Helping Can Reduce nnpleasant Feelings
Negative-state relie� model – engagement in a prosocial act primarily as a way to improve
one’s own negatve mood
Empathic Joy: Feeling Good by Helping Others
Empathic joy hypothesis – suggests that helpers enjoy the positve reactons shown by
others whom they help
Crucial or helper to know that actons had positve impact on the victm
Functonal relatons ia – link between helping others and eeling positve emotons
exists everywheres but is stronger in some cultures
Compettve Altruism: Why Nice People Sometmes Finish First
Competitive altruism – important reason that people help others is that doing so boosts
their own status and reputatons and ultmately brings them large benefts
