Scenario A: Samuel and his twin brother, Eli, are walking home from school one day when a dog appears out of nowhere and begins to attack Eli. Despite the threat to his own safety, Samuel grabs a nearby branch and uses it to scare off the dog before Eli gets too seriously hurt.
- Would Samuel’s behavior be considered prosocial behavior? Would it be considered altruism? Be sure to explain your answers for each.
- According to the norm of reciprocity, why might Samuel have helped Eli?
- According to the social exchange theory, why might Samuel have helped Eli? Be sure to provide some examples of both the possible costs and benefits of helping in this scenario.
- According to the empathy-altruism hypothesis, why might Samuel have helped Eli?
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Scenario B: Amelia is a 20-year-old who has been given the opportunity to volunteer at a nearby nursing home in downtown Los Angeles. Although she admittedly feels out of place with the elderly population, she is strongly considering taking this opportunity.
- According to your textbook’s discussion of gender differences in prosocial behavior, will Amelia be likely to volunteer at the nursing home? Why or why not?
- Would Amelia consider the nursing home residents to be an in-group or an out-group? Given your answer, what are some reasons that Amelia might not volunteer? According to research, what is the main reason that she might decide to volunteer?
- Considering the research on mood and prosocial behavior, what two negative emotions may increase the likelihood of Amelia helping? In your answer, be sure to discuss the reason why helping behavior is increased for each emotion.
- Based on your textbook’s discussion of the urban overload hypothesis, is Amelia likely to help in the nursing home? Why or why not?
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Scenario C: Julian is walking down a busy street when he sees a man lying on the ground. Several people are standing around the man, but no one seems concerned about him. Several other people continue walking by after glancing at the man.
- According to the bystander effect, is Julian likely to help the man? Why or why not?
- How will the concept of pluralistic ignorance influence Julian’s behavior? Be sure to discuss Julian’s assessment of how other people are interpreting the situation.
- How does the concept of diffusion of responsibility apply to this situation and how will it impact Julian’s helping behavior? How would it change things is Julian was the only one around to see the man?
- Based on information from your textbook, list at least three reasons why Julian might decide not to intervene even if he has made it to the last step of Latané and Darley’s five steps to helping in an emergency (i.e., the “deciding to implement help” step).
- What two forms of media have been shown to increase prosocial behavior? List the two ways that prosocial media is thought to increase cooperation and helping?
- Describe a research study presented in your book that supports the conclusion that Julian would be more likely to help the man if he had previously learned about the bystander effect.
Sample Solution
