Pro Social Behaviors- Part III (Final Part)

BASIC MOTIVATION FOR ENGAGING IN PROSOCIAL ACTS

Basic motivation to engage in prosocial acts are explained through three Hypothesis-

1.    Empathy-Altruism

2.    Negative State relief Model

3.    Empathetic Joy

4.    Genetic Determinism

1.Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis-

     Batson and his colleagues (1981) offered empathy altruism hypothesis to explain why people engage in pro social behaviors despite various contrains. They suggest that atleast some pro social acts are solely motivated by the desire to help someone in need. Such motivation can be sufficiently strong that the helper is willing to engage in unpleasant, dangerous and even life threatening activicty.

To test this hypothesis Batson and colleagues devised an experminet procedure where participants were shown a video in which a person (who is reserch assistant) gets a mild shock while doing the experiments, and he reports that he had traumatic experiences with electricity. The participants are divided into two groups. One group is told facts that arouses empathy of them by describing the victim as being very similiar to him and other group is given dissimiliarity and hence not envoking an empathy feeling. The reserch assistant gives a chance for altruistic behavior, people with empathy were the one to react.

              Because empathy is strongly motivating, people prefer not to recieve information that will arouse empathy.(Shaw, Batson $ Todd, 1994). When helping was costly, participants preffered to avoid detailed information about the victim. Feeling empathy also become complicating when multiple victims are present. Generally we tend to show Selective altruism- when a large group of individual is in need, and only one individual is helped. In appeals for charities there is frequently a picture and information about one child, designed to arouse empathy towards him and the result is selective altruism.

2. Negetive State Relief: Helping makes you feel less bad-

 

     The proposal that prosocial behavior is motivaated by the bystanders desire to reduce his or her own uncomfortable negetive emotions. (Cialdini, Baumann & Kenrick, 1981). This negetive feel can be due to distress of victim or due to other causes too.

3.Empathetic Joy: Helping as an accomplishment-

     The proposal that prosocial behavor is motivated by positive emotion a helper anticipates experiencing as a result of having a beneficial impact on life of someone in need. The person who helps feels the act as an accomplishment. Hence the person has to know that his actions had a positive impact on the victim.

     A study was conducted to test Empathetic Joy hypothesis by Smith, Keating, and Stotland. Empathy (similarity & Dissimilarity) was tested against Empathatetic joy, thats knowing the effect of end result of their pro social behavior. Results indicated that empathy is not enough but, knowledge of it after effect is also needed.

4.Genetic Determinism- Helping as an adaptive response.

          The proposal that behavior is driven by genetic atributes that evolved because they enhanced the probablity of transmitting one’s genes to subsequent generations. Those charecteristics that is relevant to reproductive succes is been passed on to next generation through evolutionary process.

          Inclusive fitness- the concept that natural selection not only applies to individuals but also involves behaviors that benefit other individuals with whom we share genes. Also called kin selection. Ie, we save  a person who is similiar to us. Hence when we save a person like us, we are saving genes that are common to us.