Societies depend on prosocial behaviour for survival. It is natural to help our family members and friends; helping is a part of our close relationships. It may be less natural to give help to strangers. Yet we measure civilization in terms of how willing people are to help each other when they have nothing to gain and no personal interest. Helping others with no apparent expectation of personal benefit is known as prosocial behaviour.
Social psychologists have studied several aspects of prosocial behaviour, including norms for prosocial behaviour, the bystander effect, and ways to promote prosocial behaviour.
Norms For Prosocial Behaviour
Norms are prescriptions for behaviour, suggesting how we "ought" to behave. Two norms can be identified for prosocial behaviour: the reciprocity norm and the social responsiblity norm.
Reciprocity
Reciprocity involves responding in kind. The reciprocity norm says that if people help us, we should help them in return. One example of the reciprocity norm in action is shown when charities soliciting donations first offer small tokens like pencils or flowers, asking for "just a donation". To reciprocate, we should make a contribution for the token we have accepted.
Social Responsiblity
The social responsiblity norm argues that we should help people who need help, whether or not they can or will ever repay our help. The social responsiblity norm is illustrated by the New Testament parable of the Good Samaritan, who helped a crime victim he did not know and never expected to have to face again.
We may judge needs in terms of deservingness or responsibity. For example, you would probably feel more socially responsible for lending your class notes to a classmate whose notebook had been stolen than to one who had "left it in a bar last night". The former classmate is an "innocent" victim who "deserves" help, while the latter is responsible for his or her own deilemma and therfore less "deserving".
The Bystander Effect
A central focus of much research on prosocial behaviour is the bystander effect, the tendency of an individual to be less helpful if other witnesses are present at the emergency. One series of studies concluded that responding in a crisis, such as helping a stranded motorist or running to the aid of a stranger who is being attacked, dependcs on how we answer a series of questions:
1. Is something happening?
2. Is it an emergency?
3. Should I take responsiblity for helping?
Research has shown that the presence of others at any one point inhibits bystander intervention. When others are also present, a witness is less likely to notice that something is happening, is less likely to interpret it as an emergency, and is less likely to take personal responsiblity fo rintervening.
How To Fix The World
A scientist lived very worried about the problems of the world and was determined to find means to diminish them. He spent days enclosed in his laboratory in search for answers to his doubts. One day, his son, seven years old, invaded his sanctuary decided to help him in his work. The scientist, nervous for the interruption, attempted to make his son go out to play someplace else. Seeing that it would be impossible to get him out of there the father supplied something to give his son with the aim to distract his attention...
He took the planisphere from a magazine, and, with a pair of scissors, he cut the map in several pieces. Along with a roll of adhesive tap he handed it to his son saying,"Do you like puzzles? Then I'm going to give you the world to fix it. Here is the world all broken. See if you can fix it ! Do it all by yourself."
He calculated that the child would take days to fix the map. Some hours later, he heard the voice of his son calling him calmly,"Father, father, I already have done it all. I managed to finish it all!"
At the beginning the father could not give credit to the words of his son, "Would it be possible at his age to manage to fix a map he had never seen before?" Then the scientist took his eyes away form the writings sure that he would see the work worthy of a child. To his surprise the map was complete. All pieces had been placed in their right places. How would that be possible? How could the child have been able to do it?
"You did not know how the world was, my son. How did you do it?"
"Father, I did not know how the world was, but when you removed the paper from the magazine to cut it, I saw that on the other side there was the figure of a man... When you gave me the world to fix it, I attempt it but I couldn't do it. Then I remembered about the man, I turned over the cuttings and started to fix the man, whom I knew how he looked. I managed to fix the man, I turned over the sheet and found that I had fixed the world..."
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