Deck 13: Prosocial Behaviour

Question 1

Evolutionary biologists have pointed cogently to examples of cooperative behaviour in animals. An example that supports this argument is:

A) socially learned behaviour that one observes to survive in the environment.
B) mutually cooperative behaviour that has positive outcomes for the cooperator as well as others.
C) self-reinforcing behaviour through an analysis of cultural norms.
D) cathartic behaviour to help kin who are healthy or sick until they are healthy again.

Answer 1

mutually cooperative behaviour that has positive outcomes for the cooperator as well as others.

Question 2

Evolutionary social psychology has proposed that complex social behaviour:

A) helps the giver to survive.
B) is a learned behaviour.
C) helps kin and the species to survive.
D) is a natural instinct.

Answer 2

helps kin and the species to survive.

Question 3

Altruistic behaviour refers to behaviour that:

A) involves a payoff for the helper.
B) cannot be classified as prosocial behaviour.
C) is intended to benefit the person helped rather than the helper.
D) hurts the helper.

Answer 3

is intended to benefit the person helped rather than the helper.

Question 4

The nature-nurture controversy can be applied to prosocial behaviour by:

A) comparing biological and social explanations.
B) asking which gene causes people to help others.
C) checking how prosocial behaviour is modelled.
D) comparing the effects of conditioning with learning.

Question 5

Which of the following applies to the current status of an evolutionary explanation for helping behaviour?

A) Supportive human evidence is convincing
B) It has neglected only social factors
C) The strong version of an 'altruistic gene' has been strengthened to a 'communicative gene'
D) Biological factors combined with empathy can predispose one to prosocial behaviour

Question 6

Up to the 1960s, prosocial behaviour was not easily explained by traditional theories of human behaviour because:

A) prosocial behaviour has many facets.
B) traditional theories had emphasised people's self-interest.
C) it is hard to quantify prosocial behaviour.
D) the Kitty Genovese murder case uncovered a totally new phenomenon.

Question 7

Psychologists who claim that altruism has been commonly observed in a variety of species favour the:

A) evolutionary perspective.
B) biomedical paradigm.
C) observational learning approach.
D) diffusionist approach.

Question 8

The case of the Kitty Genovese murder has been a major stumbling block in explaining helping behaviour as:

A) racial violence.
B) entirely biologically predisposed.
C) socially learned.
D) the outcome of circumstances.

Question 9

Evolutionary biologists have pointed cogently to examples of cooperative behaviour in animals. An example that supports this argument is:

A) the frustration-aggression hypothesis.
B) social identity theory.
C) observational learning.
D) cooperative behaviour.

Question 10

Altruism is:

A) sometimes costly act performed for personal gain.
B) a form of helping behaviour that shows concern for fellow humans.
C) performed with expectation of personal gain or recognition.
D) always giving expensive donations to charity organizations.

Question 11

When an act is performed to benefit another without expectation of one's own gain it is specifically termed:

A) virtuous behaviour.
B) altruistic behaviour.
C) helping behaviour.
D) prosocial behaviour.

Question 12

When Kitty Genovese was murdered in 1964 the crime shocked the public. This was because:

A) only one person went to her aid.
B) many local people appeared callous or unconcerned.
C) witnesses were unconcerned.
D) the New York police force had been particularly callous.

Question 13

The ________ perspective explains prosocial behaviour as the attempt to increase the probability that kin and species will survive.

A) evolutionary
B) social learning
C) Freudian
D) Piagetian

Question 14

Prosocial behaviour includes the concepts of:

A) bystander intervention.
B) apathy.
C) helplessness.
D) adaptive.

Question 15

Which of the following was NOT a finding in a study on altruism by Burnstein and colleagues (1994) dealing with the use of neo-Darwinian decision rules?

A) Sick persons were more likely to be helped than healthy ones
B) There was an interaction between health, kinship and willingness to help
C) Closer kin were more likely to receive help
D) Healthy persons were more likely to receive help in a mundane situation

Question 16

Prosocial behaviour can generally be defined as acts that:

A) are performed without expecting any gain.
B) define the best kind of society in which to live.
C) are positively valued by society.
D) are intended to benefit someone else.

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of prosocial behaviour?

A) It follows all religious principles
B) It contributes to physical or psychological wellbeing
C) It is voluntary
D) It is socially valued

Question 18

Mutualism explanations of cooperative behaviour argue that:

A) it is evolutionarily disadvantageous to engage in cooperative behaviour.
B) we are motivated to engage in cooperative behaviour because it benefits the cooperator as well as others.
C) those who cooperate are biased towards blood relatives because it helps them propagate their own genes.
D) people want to appear caring and altruistic according to social norms.

Question 19

Prosocial behaviour:

A) is a set of acts common to all cultures.
B) excludes the act of harming anyone.
C) is what marks human reactions from animal reactions.
D) is coloured by the norms of a society.

Question 20

Burnstein and colleagues (1994) found that people were less likely to help:

A) a sick person than a healthy person in an ordinary situation.
B) a healthy person than a sick person in a perilous situation.
C) a distant relative than a close relative.
D) both healthy and sick people in everyday situations.

Question 21

When the bystander-calculus model is applied to the Kitty Genovese murder, bystander apathy could be accounted for by:

A) considering the personal costs of helping, e.g., being killed.
B) experiencing sufficient empathic concern.
C) thinking the victim was capable of handling the situation.
D) thinking the attacker probably had reason to attack.

Question 22

Studies with children have shown that displaying prosocial behaviour is linked to:

A) Western culture.
B) peer pressure.
C) socialisation.
D) Eastern culture.

Question 23

A person's motivation for helping after experiencing distress resulting from someone else's distress is called:

A) empathy.
B) principlism.
C) altruism.
D) obligation.

Question 24

Piliavin's model of the decision-making process used by people when deciding whether to help in an emergency situation is referred to as the:

A) bystander-calculus model.
B) diffusion of responsibility model.
C) differential equation model.
D) audience inhibition model.

Question 25

According to Piliavin's bystander-calculus model, time and effort are:

A) costs of helping.
B) positively correlated.
C) crucial for labelling the arousal.
D) not dealt with adequately.

Question 26

The bystander-calculus model:

A) is a means of carrying out computations of effective queuing.
B) explains helping on the basis of cognitive and physiological processes.
C) explains how person perception works by solely using cognitive processes.
D) is a method that waiting persons use to estimate the value of a tip.

Question 27

Which of the following is NOT a step in the bystander-calculus model?

A) Labelling the arousal
B) Identifying with the victim
C) Evaluating the consequences
D) Physiological arousal

Question 28

In the bystander-calculus model of helping someone thought to be in distress, a crucial stage is reached when:

A) the consequences of action are evaluated.
B) the ambulance arrives.
C) the model to be imitated arrives on the scene.
D) eye contact with the victim commences.

Question 29

The fact that prosocial behaviour is prescribed, learned and expected makes it:

A) normative.
B) essential.
C) a social obligation.
D) a script.

Question 30

Piliavin's bystander-calculus model combines:

A) costs to society and costs to the victim.
B) a number of automatic decision-making stages.
C) cognitive and physiological processes.
D) neurological and evolutionary principles.

Question 31

In considering the role of empathy in accounting for helping others:

A) it is unclear that the concept has a biosocial basis.
B) we can note that contextual factors are involved.
C) it is necessary to consider the role of anxiety.
D) instinct is involved in creating empathy.

Question 32

Barry is a macho type, and was not sympathetic when reading a police report about a young woman being hospitalised after a sexual assault at a gang party. 'She would have had it coming to her', he thinks. This is an example of:

A) the just-world hypothesis.
B) new-look prejudice.
C) a normative influence.
D) the modelling effect.

Question 33

Paula watches her older sister Jenny share her bag of jelly beans with their little brother, Ryan. The next week, Paula is given two biscuits for morning tea. She walks over to Ryan and offers to share one with him. Paula's behaviour is an example of:

A) empathy.
B) modelling.
C) social loafing.
D) biological response.

Question 34

Rosenkoetter (1999) studied the effect of viewing situation comedies on children, finding that:

A) most children did not understand the underlying moral lesson.
B) children who watched episodes with moral lessons later acted more prosocially.
C) violent lessons were easier to learn than helping behaviour.
D) children preferred violent programmes.

Question 35

Contrary to conventional views, in their early approach Piliavin and colleagues (1975) based altruism on prosocial behaviour as:

A) self-interest.
B) learning.
C) situations.
D) norms.

Question 36

Empathy:

A) is the inability to identify with someone's experiences and feelings.
B) is unrelated to perspective taking.
C) is affect- and feeling-based.
D) is based on social learning.

Question 37

Latane and Darley's (1968) cognitive model of bystander intervention proposed that:

A) once the person thinks they might help other influences are irrelevant.
B) the major predictor for a person's helping behaviour is the person's values.
C) there are considerable differences in people's abilities to empathise with a victim.
D) a person's helping behaviour depends on a series of decisions.

Question 38

There is a relationship between increased helping and ________ and ________.

A) increased empathy; perspective taking
B) controlling one's emotions; checking for other bystanders
C) being distant from the victim; using cognitive processes
D) self-interest; higher personal costs

Question 39

Little Anna has watched her big brother Alan being praised for helping Mum carry the heavy shopping bags into the house. Anna is likely to help next time as a result of:

A) sibling competition.
B) a vicarious learning experience.
C) her need for positive self-esteem.
D) mental maturing.

Question 40

Physiological arousal, labelling the arousal and evaluating the consequences of acting before helping are aspects of:

A) the bystander-calculus model.
B) the affect-cost model.
C) an evolutionary model.
D) the diffusion of responsibility model.

Question 41

Mark is walking down a busy street and sees a man lying unconscious in the gutter. The man is wearing a dishevelled suit and surrounded by empty beer bottles. The other people walking past don't seem notice the man, and the ones that do just laugh at him and move on. Mark is concerned that the man might actually be in trouble-perhaps he has had a heart attack or some other kind of accident? But Mark also wonders if perhaps the man is fine, perhaps he just had a big night on the town? Mark wants to help but Mark also doesn't want to overact in the situation or act inappropriately. The phenomenon that Mark is experiencing is:

A) diffusion of responsibility.
B) fear of social blunders.
C) prejudice.
D) social loafing.

Question 42

Amato (1983) found that as the population of a town/city ________, acts of prosocial behaviour ________.

A) increased; remained the same
B) increased; decreased
C) decreased; decreased
D) decreased; remained the same

Question 43

In a study of the function of a social support network for cancer patients, Dakof and Taylor (1990) found that:

A) patients' reactions to help were moderated by their relationship with the helper.
B) patients were grateful for all the help they could get.
C) members from nuclear families tended to withdraw more readily.
D) the provision of pain-killing drugs was the only helpful act.

Question 44

There is a paradox: the likelihood of helping someone in distress decreases as the number of potential helpers increases. This can be accounted for to some extent by:

A) lack of empathy.
B) independence in Western cultures.
C) social loafing.
D) diffusion of responsibility.

Question 45

Among individuals, a variable that impacts helping behaviour is:

A) attractiveness.
B) self-esteem.
C) perceiving oneself to be competent.
D) time.

Question 46

Group leaders engage more readily in helping behaviour than ordinary group members. Baumeister and colleagues (1988) explain this by means of:

A) normative influence.
B) less social diffusion.
C) group obligation.
D) specific skills of the leader.

Question 47

Moriarty (1975) found that when a confederate asked a participant to mind their belongings while they went for a short walk, the participant was more likely to prevent the confederate's belongings from being stolen. This effect can be explained by:

A) prior commitment on the part of the participant.
B) social role theory.
C) terror management theory.
D) social loafing.

Question 48

People who are reluctant to help others are often themselves victims of:

A) fear of social blunders.
B) having being caught in a reality programme.
C) childhood abuse.
D) low self-esteem.

Question 49

A core prediction of Latane and Darley's cognitive model of bystander intervention is that:

A) in an emergency, people are most likely to intervene when there are lots of people around because it will make them look good.
B) in an emergency, the likelihood of bystanders intervening depends on their belief in a just-world.
C) in an emergency, people will react differently according to whether or not others are present.
D) in an emergency, people are slow to act if the victim is already being helped by other people.

Question 50

Klentz and Beaman (1981) found that the most successful method for reducing shoplifting was:

A) anti-theft posters displayed in store.
B) a lecture stressing how and why to report shoplifting and the reasons why bystanders can be inhibited from taking action.
C) displaying warning signs which described harsh punishments for shoplifters.
D) Both A and C

Question 51

Among the demographic variables that impact helping behaviour is:

A) age.
B) religion.
C) size of hometown.
D) level of income.

Question 52

Mikulincer and Shaver (2005) found that individuals with _______ attachment style were more likely to be compassionate and altruistic.

A) secure
B) avoidant
C) ambivalent
D) disorganised

Question 53

Recall that Sherif used the autokinetic phenomenon to study how social norms develop. What does that situation have in common with an emergency? They both involve:

A) very high levels of stress.
B) the use of confederates acting as subjects.
C) an explicit pressure to conform.
D) uncertainty and ambiguity about what to think or do.

Question 54

Janet is studying at the library when she remembers that she needs to make a phone call. She can be more confident about leaving her books on the desk if she:

A) makes them look old and useless.
B) asks the student adjacent to her desk to look after her books.
C) puts a note on the desk saying that the universe is watching.
D) hides them under her cardigan, out of sight.

Question 55

Studies on exam cheating have revealed that cheats:

A) respond mostly to situational cues.
B) have defective personalities.
C) are nearly always caught.
D) are heading for a life of crime.

Question 56

To attend to what is happening, to assume responsibility and to decide what can be done are:

A) stages of the diffusion of responsibility model.
B) steps in Latane & Darley's cognitive model of bystander intervention.
C) how bystanders get to know each other.
D) indicators that it is too late to help in an emergency.

Question 57

People's likelihood of helping others can be increased when:

A) they have been complimented on a recent success.
B) you write down their name and address before help is expected.
C) other people watch and clap.
D) you have told them someone is chasing them.

Question 58

Przybyla (1985) examined the influence of sexual arousal on helping behaviour. He found that:

A) women who reported greater arousal helped other women longer.
B) women who reported greater arousal helped men longer.
C) men who reported greater arousal helped other men longer.
D) men who reported greater arousal helped women longer.

Question 59

An event that is unusual, unforeseen and involves danger for a person and/or property is:

A) an emergency.
B) a social blunder.
C) an experiment.
D) a surprise.

Question 60

After a variety of experiments on the bystander effect, the evidence suggests that:

A) helping behaviour depends on the victim's needs.
B) helping behaviour is strongest amongst anonymous strangers.
C) helping behaviour is weakest when there several potential helpers.
D) females appear more sympathetic than males.

Question 61

According to Batson (1994), collectivism, altruism and egoism are:

A) personality traits.
B) categories signifying various levels of social interaction.
C) motives for helping others.
D) ways of classifying societies.

Question 62

An attempt to gain compliance by first doing someone a favour can be referred to as:

A) the reciprocity principle.
B) the social responsibility norm.
C) social compensation.
D) compassion.

Question 63

The idea that we should help people who are dependent and in need is referred to as:

A) the reciprocity principle.
B) the social responsibility norm.
C) empathy.
D) social loafing.

Question 64

People who live in individualistic societies are more likely to ask for help when:

A) individual performance is compared to other individuals.
B) faced with a difficult task as a member of a group.
C) group membership is compared to other groups.
D) feel dependent or have a negative stereotype.

Question 65

Kevin decides to put the reciprocity principle into practice. A keen rock climber, he decides to join a search-and-rescue team in his local alpine area. He expects to:

A) be outdoors even more.
B) show off his climbing skills.
C) receive help himself if he needs it.
D) get free rides in the helicopter.

Question 66

Annette has been a willing helper for Jacinta, who is trying to write a psychology essay. Annette is herself worried about an upcoming statistics test. She also knows that Jacinta shines at statistics. Annette's helping behaviour probably includes a good dose of:

A) domination.
B) true altruism.
C) operating on the reciprocity principle.
D) cold-bloodedness.

Question 67

Sam is on the local council. He gets quite annoyed when some councillors argue for a 'user-pays' policy. Sam believes that many local amenities should be heavily subsidised to make more services available to the needy. Sam's belief is called:

A) the reciprocity norm.
B) the just-world hypothesis.
C) the egalitarian principle.
D) the social responsibility norm.

Question 68

Dakof and Taylor's (1990) study of cancer patients found that:

A) when dealing with friends and family, patients most valued help that was in the form of information.
B) when dealing with friends and family, patients most valued help that was in the form of mental support.
C) when dealing with medical staff, patients most valued help that was in the form of tangible support.
D) when dealing with medical staff, patients most valued help that was in the form of emotional support.

Question 69

'Principlism', one of Batson's (1994) motives for helping others, refers to prosocial acts that are:

A) based on the principles of a defined collective.
B) based on the reciprocity principle.
C) principally aimed at the benefit of the actor.
D) the consequence of a moral principle.