Sign up to access the complete lesson and track your progress!
Unlock This CourseProsocial behaviour is one of the most fascinating areas of psychology because it explores the best of human nature - why we help others, share resources and work together for the common good. From holding a door open for someone to donating to charity, prosocial behaviours happen all around us every day.
Understanding prosocial behaviour helps us make sense of cooperation in society and explains why humans have been so successful as a species. It also helps us understand how we can encourage more helping behaviour in our communities.
Key Definitions:
For behaviour to be considered prosocial, it must be voluntary, intentional and aimed at benefiting others. It doesn't matter if the helper also benefits - what matters is that helping others was part of the intention.
Prosocial behaviour encompasses a wide range of actions, from small everyday gestures to major life-changing decisions. Psychologists have spent decades studying what drives people to help others and have identified several key characteristics that define prosocial behaviour.
To understand prosocial behaviour fully, we need to examine its essential features. These characteristics help us distinguish genuine prosocial acts from other types of behaviour that might appear helpful but have different motivations.
The behaviour must be freely chosen, not forced or required by law or social pressure. A person choosing to volunteer at a food bank is prosocial; being ordered to do community service is not.
The helper must intend to benefit others. Accidentally helping someone (like dropping money that someone else finds) doesn't count as prosocial behaviour because there was no intention to help.
The action must actually help or benefit the recipient. Even if someone intends to help, if their action causes harm instead, it's not considered prosocial behaviour.
Prosocial behaviour comes in many forms, from spontaneous acts of kindness to planned charitable activities. Understanding these different types helps us recognise the full spectrum of helping behaviour in our daily lives.
Most prosocial behaviour happens in ordinary situations where people choose to help others without expecting anything in return. These small acts of kindness form the foundation of cooperative society.
Actions that provide physical assistance, such as helping someone carry heavy bags, giving directions to lost tourists, or helping an elderly person cross the street. These behaviours often require immediate action and personal effort.
Providing comfort, encouragement, or a listening ear to someone in distress. This might include consoling a friend who's upset, offering encouragement to someone facing challenges, or simply being present when someone needs support.
Psychologists Darley and Batson conducted a famous experiment with seminary students. They found that students who were in a hurry were much less likely to help a person in distress, even though they were studying to become religious leaders. This study showed that situational factors can be more important than personality in determining prosocial behaviour.
It's important to understand how prosocial behaviour differs from similar concepts like altruism and cooperation. While these terms are related, they have distinct meanings in psychology.
While all altruistic acts are prosocial, not all prosocial acts are altruistic. The key difference lies in motivation and self-interest.
Includes any helpful action, regardless of whether the helper benefits. For example, donating to charity for a tax deduction is still prosocial because it helps others, even though the donor receives a financial benefit.
Requires helping with no expectation of personal benefit. True altruism is rare and difficult to prove because people often receive psychological benefits (feeling good) from helping others.
Understanding what makes people more or less likely to help others is crucial for promoting prosocial behaviour in society. Research has identified several key factors that influence our willingness to help.
Individual characteristics play a significant role in determining how likely someone is to engage in prosocial behaviour. These factors include personality traits, mood and personal experiences.
People in good moods are more likely to help others. Positive emotions increase empathy and make people more aware of others' needs. However, some negative moods can also increase helping if they make people more empathetic.
The ability to understand and share others' feelings is strongly linked to prosocial behaviour. People who are naturally empathetic or who can easily imagine themselves in others' situations are more likely to help.
Personal beliefs about helping others, social responsibility and moral obligations influence prosocial behaviour. People who value helping others are more likely to act prosocially across different situations.
Prosocial behaviour research has practical applications in many areas of life, from designing better communities to improving workplace cooperation. Understanding these principles helps us create environments that encourage helping behaviour.
The tragic case of Kitty Genovese in 1964 led to important research on the bystander effect. When multiple people witness an emergency, each person is less likely to help because they assume someone else will act. This research has led to better emergency response training and public awareness campaigns about the importance of taking action.
Understanding the psychology of helping behaviour allows us to design interventions and create environments that promote prosocial actions. This knowledge is used in schools, workplaces and communities worldwide.
Schools use prosocial behaviour research to develop programs that teach empathy, cooperation and helping skills. These programs often include role-playing exercises and discussions about moral dilemmas to help students understand different perspectives.
Communities use prosocial behaviour principles to design volunteer programs, neighbourhood watch schemes and charitable initiatives. Understanding what motivates people to help allows organisations to create more effective campaigns and programs.
Prosocial behaviour doesn't happen in a vacuum - it's strongly influenced by cultural norms, social expectations and group membership. Different cultures have varying expectations about when and how people should help others.
Research shows that prosocial behaviour varies significantly across cultures, reflecting different values, social structures and historical experiences. Understanding these differences helps us appreciate the complexity of human helping behaviour.
Cultures that emphasise group harmony and interdependence (like many Asian cultures) often show high levels of helping behaviour within their groups but may be less likely to help strangers or out-group members.
Cultures that emphasise personal achievement and independence (like many Western cultures) may show more helping behaviour towards strangers but sometimes less obligation to help family or community members.
Researchers studied helping behaviour in 23 countries by observing whether people would help a stranger with a dropped pen, a hurt leg, or making change. They found significant cultural differences, with countries like Brazil and Costa Rica showing the highest levels of helping behaviour, while countries experiencing rapid social change showed lower levels.