Deck 10: Critically Analyzing a Psychological Question: Are People Basically Selfish

Question 1

The research evidence for reciprocal altruism provides support for the claim that:

A) individuals are willing to help if they can ultimately receive something in return.
B) altruism has an evolutionary basis such that a person is more likely to help kin.
C) altruism is primarily a psychological phenomenon, rather than a biological phenomenon.
D) research has no bearing on cross-cultural findings related to the basis to altruism.

Answer 1

individuals are willing to help if they can ultimately receive something in return.

Question 2

Given that the heritability of empathy was found to be high (in one study, .72), which interpretation of these findings is MOST appropriate with regard to the question of whether people are basically selfish?

A) Empathy is inherited, and environmental influences contribute only approximately 28% to helping.
B) Empathy is largely genetically determined and not subject to learning and other environmental influences.
C) Altruism and empathy are largely inherited and cause people to help more if they have the genes for these traits.
D) There is a genetic influence of empathy on individual differences measured in the population related to helping behavior.

Answer 2

There is a genetic influence of empathy on individual differences measured in the population related to helping behavior.

Question 3

The chapter discussion on whether people are basically selfish or unselfish is divided into different sections such as "The Biological Basis of Altruism" and "Social Psychological Research on Empathy and Altruism." This organization of the discussion is MOST closely related to:

A) recognizing the quantity of evidence used in the discussion.
B) the arguments versus non-arguments in the discussion.
C) evaluating arguments and counterarguments in the discussion.
D) the perspectives taken in the discussion.

Answer 3

the perspectives taken in the discussion.

Question 4

Jaime says, "Theo is a selfish person because he never volunteers to help." Jack asks, "Why does Theo never volunteer to help?" Jaime replies, "Because he is selfish." Which thinking or argumentation error does Jaime show?

A) Confirmation bias
B) Arguing from ignorance
C) After-the-fact reasoning
D) Circular reasoning

Question 5

Myside bias is most closely related to which other thinking error?

A) Illusory correlation
B) Black-and-white thinking
C) Confirmation bias
D) Circular reasoning

Question 6

Charles Darwin developed his creative theory of evolution by combining the:

A) methods of experimental biology with what was known in chemistry.
B) viewpoints of three of his main teachers.
C) results of laboratory research on natural selection with field studies.
D) perspectives offered by economics, geology, and natural history (biology).

Question 7

The chapter discussion on whether people are basically selfish or unselfish is divided into different sections. The sections contain evidence on each side of the question. To draw a well-reasoned conclusion from the entire passage, the critical thinker must evaluate

A) the quality and quantity of evidence supporting each side in each section and then generalize from this analysis.
B) the arguments versus non-arguments in the overall discussion and then deduce the strongest conclusion.
C) how good are the arguments and counterarguments made in the discussion.
D) the perspectives that provide different information to decide which perspective leads to the most reasonable conclusion.

Question 8

Which is a common psychological misconception that people have about heritability?

A) High heritability means a trait or ability is largely genetically determined and cannot change or be influenced by learning and experience.
B) Heritability is similar to correlation and, therefore, shows an association between genetic factors and behavior.
C) A high heritability score means there is a genetic influence for some characteristic across the population as measured in the population.
D) A high heritability score does not mean that behavior is controlled by genes or inheritance.

Question 9

The issue of whether a person should help another person is MOST likely to be discussed from a _____ perspective.

A) psychological
B) philosophical
C) biopsychological
D) developmental

Question 10

A researcher hypothesized that people who show more helping behavior do this because they are more helpful than less helpful people. This hypothesis is BEST described as:

A) adequate because it compares at least two different conditions.
B) good because it compares conditions and has an independent variable and a dependent variable.
C) not very good because it seems to involve circular reasoning.
D) not very good because it seems to involve reasoning from ignorance.

Question 11

Which statement is TRUE about heritability?

A) High heritability means an ability is largely genetically determined and not subject to learning and other environmental influences.
B) There is a genetic influence for some characteristics across the population as measured in the population.
C) When heritability is high, it means that some trait is largely inherited and that genes are causing a behavior.
D) A high heritability score indicates that there is a genetic determination for some characteristic.

Question 12

The finding that people are more likely to help kin suggests that people:

A) have evolved the capacity to be altruistic to people in general.
B) learn to help through reinforcement or social learning.
C) will help for purely altruistic reasons.
D) will help under certain conditions, such as when they are related.

Question 13

The question "Is selfishness beneficial or harmful?" is a:

A) critical question.
B) values question.
C) rhetorical question.
D) descriptive question.

Question 14

Hoffman (1981) and others have argued that empathy is an innate or biologically prepared trait in people. This view was supported by research showing that infants will spontaneously begin to cry when another baby is in distress. This is most consistent with the view that people are:

A) altruistic.
B) basically selfish.
C) helpful when a reward for helping is available.
D) antisocial.

Question 15

If a researcher investigates the evolution and genetics of helping behavior, this researcher is taking a _____ perspective.

A) social psychological
B) basic psychological
C) biopsychological
D) historical

Question 16

A researcher who tests whether people are more likely to help if they are alone versus in a group is MOST likely to be a:

A) social psychologist.
B) developmental psychologist.
C) biopsychologist.
D) cognitive psychologist.

Question 17

From a critical thinking perspective, myside bias is a problem with thinking because it:

A) shows that an individual does not know how to make a basic argument.
B) is selfish and shows that an individual does not care about other people.
C) is one-sided and does not take into account other views on a question.
D) is a kind of circular reasoning that does not lead to anything new.

Question 18

An active process that involves broadening one's understanding by seeing a question from a different viewpoint is called:

A) objective looking.
B) visualizing.
C) perspective taking.
D) philosophizing.

Question 19

Philosophers and religious authorities have often argued that people should help others in need. This statement relates to a _____ question about helping.

A) cognitive
B) values
C) improvisational
D) descriptive

Question 20

Philosophers and religious authorities have often argued that people should help others in need. How is this statement reflected in the approach taken by most psychological researchers studying helping?

A) Psychologists usually take a descriptive approach rather than a values-question approach and focus on the study of helping behavior.
B) Psychologists agree with the value of helping, study it, and recommend it in their research reports.
C) Psychologists usually consider helping behavior in terms of whether it is right for people to help others in a situation.
D) Psychologists agree with a values approach, in that helping is always good, and conduct surveys to quantify instances of helping.

Question 21

Darley and Latané conducted research on the bystander effect and the diffusion of responsibility. The real-world implication of the study results is that if a person needs help and there are lots of people around, the person:

A) is more likely to get help than if just one or two people are available to help.
B) should expect that at least one person in the group will help, but probably more will help.
C) should identify one specific person from the group and ask that individual for help.
D) should ask all the people in a large group to help, not directing a plea to anyone in particular.

Question 22

Suppose someone says, "Everyone knows that there is safety in numbers, so a person is more likely to be helped when there are more people around to help." A person saying this is using a:

A) rumor to support an incorrect conclusion.
B) personal experience to support a correct conclusion.
C) statement of an authority to support a wrong conclusion.
D) commonsense belief to support a psychological misconception.

Question 23

Which term does not go together with the other three terms?

A) Either-or thinking
B) False dichotomy
C) Black-and-white thinking
D) Circular reasoning

Question 24

Which statement BEST describes the development and learning of altruistic behavior in research on donations made?

A) Helping behavior is stable across the life span, as shown by the fact that younger children donate at the same rate as much older children.
B) Little learning of helping and altruistic behavior occurs as children age, such that if children do not donate much when young they will not donate much when older.
C) Younger children tend to donate more than older children after they have been praised for an earlier donation or told they must have donated because they are helpful.
D) Older children tend to donate more than younger children after they have been praised for an earlier donation or told they must have donated because they are helpful.

Question 25

Which example from the text offers the MOST clear and consistent support for the claim that people are basically altruistic?

A) Abraham Lincoln stopped a carriage to save pigs in the mud.
B) Lenny Skutnik helped air crash victims in the icy Potomac River.
C) Kitty Genovese was a victim of assault in New York City.
D) Ayn Rand was a philosopher who wrote about altruism.

Question 26

The review of the literature by Piliavin (2008) provides which kind of evidence about altruism and empathy?

A) Scientific authority based on research on helping
B) The results from mostly quasi-experiments that are not trustworthy
C) The opinion of a scientist who is likely showing confirmation bias
D) Expert opinion from an unrelated domain

Question 27

Bryan and Test (1967) conducted an experiment in which a randomly assigned group of drivers were more likely to help if they had first observed another driver helping a person on the road than those in a group who had not observed another driver helping. This study:

A) provides strong support that altruism is found in the behavior of ordinary citizens.
B) provides a weak kind of evidence because it was a quasi-experiment.
C) does not support the claim that people are either altruistic or egoistic.
D) shows that helping may depend on observing another person helping.

Question 28

Which thinking error BEST exemplifies a false dichotomy?

A) Illusory correlation
B) Black-and-white thinking
C) Confirmation bias
D) Circular reasoning

Question 29

Sibicky, Schroeder, and Dovidio (1995) compared participants who were induced to feel empathy with participants who were not so induced. Those who were induced to feel more empathy gave fewer hints to help other participants when they were told that the hints could harm the other participants later in the experiment. This finding:

A) supports the claim that genuine empathy can lead to helping that is sensitive to the needs of others and not simply motivated to avoid feeling bad.
B) supports the idea that empathy leads to helping that is motivated by the desire to avoid feeling bad and, therefore, is actually selfish.
C) is inconsistent with the idea that there is a biological basis to empathy.
D) shows that empathy is actually unrelated to peoples' motives for helping.

Question 30

In the 1960s and 1970s, activists confronted other people with the expression, "If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem." Those who voiced this extreme position may have been committing which thinking error?

A) Arguing from ignorance
B) Making a false dichotomy
C) Failing to make an argument
D) Engaging in circular reasoning

Question 31

In terms of reducing the bystander effect, it may be especially effective for college students to learn about the tendency for an individual to help less when others are available to help because:

A) college students do not want to get involved in the problems of other individuals whom they encounter.
B) college students do not often notice occasions for helping, so bringing those occasions to their attention can increase their helping.
C) research has shown that learning about the bystander effect tends to incline college students to help.
D) the developmental phase associated with college attendance makes college students particularly prone to increases in altruism.

Question 32

The research showing that people who are in a good mood are more likely to help also:

A) provides strong support for the claim that people are fundamentally altruistic.
B) suggests that helping is a positive experience all people want to have.
C) implies that helping depends on another variable and is not completely altruistic.
D) supports the evolutionary basis of altruism.

Question 33

Modern research on genetics and the influence of the environment on gene expression suggests that the nature versus nurture question involves creating a(n):

A) unwarranted assumption.
B) false dichotomy.
C) argument from possibility.
D) circular argument.

Question 34

The text discusses whether people are basically selfish or unselfish. The psychologist Dennis Krebs objected to this kind of approach in which the question is posed in terms of whether people are either altruistic or egoistic. The objection is that there are other possibilities besides these two and that this approach is an example of:

A) illusory correlation.
B) black-and-white thinking.
C) confirmation bias.
D) circular reasoning.

Question 35

The findings that people are more likely to help when they are rewarded, are in a good mood, or have just observed someone else helping provide the best support for the conclusion that people:

A) are altruistic except in unusual circumstances.
B) are not simply altruistic, so that helping may depend on other factors.
C) sometimes help because helping is just the right thing to do.
D) show empathy for others and are mostly helpful for unselfish reasons.

Question 36

Darley and Latané (1968) conducted a study in which participants were randomly assigned to one group who thought they were the only ones who could provide help and to another group who thought other people had heard a plea for help. The evidence the researchers provided was:

A) rather weak evidence because the study was not done on ordinary people.
B) rather strong evidence because the study was a true experiment.
C) not especially strong evidence because it was a survey research study.
D) weak because the study was inspired by the anecdote of Kitty Genovese.

Question 37

Consistent with the research by Romer, Gruder, and Lizardo (1986), which statement is the BEST inductive conclusion that can be drawn from the discussion of whether people are basically selfish?

A) People are almost always altruistic except under unusual circumstances.
B) People show individual differences in helping, with some helping only if they get something in return.
C) People cannot be classified as selfish or unselfish, and the willingness to help depends only on whether they are promised some kind of reward.
D) Selfish people may get an intrinsic reward for helping, but would not help if provided with an external reward.

Question 38

The study by Romer, Gruder, and Lizardo (1986) found that altruistic people tended to help more when not given a reward. If this finding is interpreted to mean that altruistic people find it more internally rewarding to help when they are not given an external reward, this supports the conclusion that people are:

A) basically altruistic, in the sense that they helped when they could.
B) basically selfish, because even altruistic people were getting an internal reward.
C) are unselfish, because they helped even when they did not get a reward.
D) basically unselfish, because all altruistic people helped when they could.

Question 39

The BEST explanation for why an individual is more reluctant to help others when the individual thinks that many people are available to help is that people:

A) are especially apathetic when other people are around to help.
B) are more afraid when others are around who might observe that the individual could do something to help.
C) show more diffusion of responsibility when more people are around who could help.
D) do not understand probability and believe someone in need will more likely get help when more people are around.

Question 40

Which is the BEST conclusion to be drawn from the literature review on whether people are basically selfish or unselfish?

A) It cannot be concluded that people are basically altruistic because some high-quality studies have found that people help others out of genuine empathy.
B) The bulk of the research shows that people are basically altruistic and suggests that people rarely help others for selfish reasons, such as to avoid guilt or distress from not helping.
C) It cannot be concluded that people are basically altruistic because helping often depends on getting a reward, avoiding guilt, learning to be unselfish, and observing others help.
D) The bulk of the research shows that people are basically selfish and suggests that people always help others for selfish reasons.

Question 41

Whenever numerous high-quality research studies provide support for both sides of a scientific question, it is a good idea to:

A) examine how the question is conceived and to suspect a false dichotomy.
B) suspect that the people examining the question are making poor arguments.
C) question the wisdom of the experts who are making the arguments.
D) persist with the question, because research shows that strategy will lead to a solution.

Question 42

Explain how taking different perspectives on a complex question can lead to a better understanding and critical analysis of a question and reduce the impact of thinking errors. Use examples from the chapter's discussion of the question of whether people are basically selfish or unselfish to illustrate what different perspectives have to offer.

Question 43

Apply your knowledge of research on helping to analyze the behavior and motives of Tim, the individual described below, to determine whether he is behaving altruistically or selfishly. Give reasons to explain Tim's behavior and motivation based on the critical reading discussion and other information in the chapter.
Tim attended a meeting of a campus social group that sponsored charity events to help under-privileged children. The chair of the group described a new event that was intended to help poor children buy school supplies for the school year. When Tim saw pictures of some of the children with tattered clothing who often went to school hungry, he thought, "That is so sad. I have so much and never had to worry about that. I will definitely contribute." When the chair asked for volunteers to help distribute the supplies, Tim thought, "I'm really busy. I don't know if I can spare the time-anyway, other people will volunteer." When Tim looked around the room, no hands were going up. Then he saw Jontel, a cute girl from his psychology class, also looking around the room. Tim raised his hand to volunteer.