1 Psychology and human development1.10 Social psychology
1.10.3.3 Altruism, social exchange theory and helping relationships
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Written by Resident Doctor Committee · Published
Altruism and social exchange
Altruism is helping out of concern for the other person's welfare rather than for expected personal gain.
Social exchange theory holds that people help when the rewards outweigh the costs, without needing to calculate this consciously.
The reciprocity norm says to help those who have helped us; the social responsibility norm says to help those who depend on us, expecting nothing back.
The bystander effect
The bystander effect (Latané and Darley), also called Genovese syndrome, is that the more witnesses there are, the less likely and the slower any one of them is to help. A lone witness is the most likely to intervene.
The 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese prompted the research, although reports of 38 passive witnesses were largely inaccurate.
In Fischer and colleagues' 2011 meta-analysis, a clearly dangerous emergency weakens the effect, because other witnesses become potential allies.
The effect is stronger when the perpetrator has left the scene.
Latané and Darley's five steps to helping
Step | What can block it |
|---|---|
1. Notice the event | Hurry and distraction, as in Darley and Batson's hurried theology students |
2. Interpret it as an emergency | Pluralistic ignorance |
3. Accept responsibility | Diffusion of responsibility |
4. Know how to help | Low perceived competence or training |
5. Act | Danger, embarrassment, fear of doing harm |
Pluralistic ignorance is a false shared belief: each bystander reads the apparent calm of the others as evidence that nothing is wrong.
Diffusion of responsibility is the reduced personal obligation a witness feels because the duty to help is shared among the other potential helpers.
Naming the emergency and giving one specific person a task counters both.
Deindividuation
Deindividuation, named by Festinger and colleagues in 1952, is the loss of self-awareness and personal accountability that anonymity, a large crowd and arousal produce.
Effects of helping on the helper
Altruistic acts reduce the helper's perception of physical pain, as well as improving mood, self-worth and well-being.
The helper therapy principle holds that the giver gains at least as much as the receiver, and it underpins mutual aid models.
Helpers risk compassion fatigue, worst when personal distress dominates and their control is low.