- Instinct and Genes
- Social Exchange
- Empathy and Altruism

Basic Motives Underlying Prosocial Behavior: Theories

- Environment
- Residential Mobility
- Number of Bystanders (Bystander Effect)
- Effects of Media

Situational Determinants of Prosocial Behavior

- Personality
- Gender
- Culture
- Religion
- Mood

Personal Qualities that Influence Prosocial Behavior

Evolutionary psychologists attempted to explain prosocial behavior in three ways: kin selection, the norm of reciprocity, and group selection.

Theory of Prosocial Behavior: Instinct & Genes

Research suggests that high-dose psilocybin can lead to significant and lasting positive changes in interpersonal relationships, gratitude, life's meaning, forgiveness, spiritual experiences, and more. These effects were influenced by intense psilocybin experiences and regular spiritual practices, suggesting the potential for improved social attitudes and psychological well-being.

Prevalent increase in Prosocial behaviors due to psilocybin mystical experiences in combination with meditation 

Allyship refers to an act on behalf of an individual with privilege to work with marginalized communities to help dismantle existing systems that impede communities' fundamental rights, opportunities and access, and potential to flourish in society. 

Allyship

Which of the following are examples of prosocial behavior?

Altruism is a social preference where an individual is willing to bear a cost to benefit someone else. This behavior is exemplified by acts of self-sacrifice, such as individuals risking or giving their lives for others during wars or natural disasters, even when the beneficiaries are complete strangers.

Altruism

An example of helping behavior, an interpersonal topic in social psychology, is a group of people collaborating to push a stalled car up a steep, unpaved road.

Example of Helping Behavior

An example of widespread prosocial behavior can be seen in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. During this crisis, many individuals, including educators and healthcare workers, made extraordinary efforts to help and support others, illustrating how people can work together for the common good.

Example of Prosocial Behavior: Mutual Aid During the COVID-19 Pandemic

A photograph from the aftermath of the September 11th terrorist attacks shows two individuals covered in dust and debris. One person is actively supporting and helping the other, illustrating an instance of prosocial behavior amidst a crisis.

Example of Prosocial Behavior: Aftermath of the 9/11 Attacks

Helping behaviors can be driven by two contrasting motivations. Altruistic helping is selfless, stemming from genuine empathy for others. In contrast, egoistic helping is motivated by self-interest, such as the desire to feel good about oneself or receive social rewards.

Altruistic vs. Egoistic Motivations for Helping

Prosocial behavior is defined as any voluntary action performed with the specific intention of benefiting another person or group. It raises the question of whether such acts are motivated solely by personal benefits, like feeling good, or if other reasons, such as altruism, are at play.

Google

New Mexico Highlands University

Alma College

University of Chicago

New York University

Interpersonal topics in social psychology pertain to the interactions and relationships involving dyads and groups. Key areas of study include helping behaviors, aggression, prejudice and discrimination, attraction and close relationships, as well as group and intergroup processes.

Interpersonal Topics in Social Psychology

Aronson, E., Wilson, T. D., Akert, R. M., & Sommers, S. R. (2018). Revel Social Psychology (10th ed.). Pearson.

Revel Social Psychology

Spielman, R. M., Jenkins, W. J., & Lovett, M. D. (2020, April 22). Psychology (2nd ed.). OpenStax. https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/1-introduction

OpenStax Psychology (2nd ed.) Textbook

Social influence refers to the power of a social situation to alter an individual's thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. This phenomenon, driven by real or imagined pressure from others, is demonstrated through key topics such as conformity, obedience, and group processes.

Social Influence

Prosocial Behavior

Discrimination is defined as an action or behavior towards an individual that results from their membership in a particular group. While typically discussed as a negative and oppressive act, such as exclusion, discrimination can also manifest positively through preferential treatment for individuals who are part of one's own group.

Discrimination in Social Psychology

Social networks are social structures consisting of interconnected patterns of relationships among different individuals.

Social Network 

In social psychology, prejudice refers to the attitudes and feelings held toward an individual based solely on their membership in a particular social group. While these attitudes are often negative and problematic, they can also be positive, such as having favorable feelings for people who belong to a group one identifies with.

Prejudice in Social Psychology

While social psychology often examines negative behaviors, it also delves into positive social interactions such as what draws people together. The study of love and attraction explores the key questions of relationship formation, including the situational factors that make relationships more likely, the universal traits people find appealing, the different classifications of love, and theories that explain how relationships are initiated, sustained, and sometimes ended.

Love and Attraction

Physical proximity is the single most influential factor in determining the formation of friendships and romantic relationships. People are significantly more likely to build relationships with individuals they encounter frequently simply because regular contact provides more opportunities for interaction and getting to know one another.

Proximity in Relationship Formation

Aggression is defined as any behavior intended to cause harm or pain to another person. It is a core topic in social psychology, encompassing a range of actions with different underlying motivations.

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