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Unlock This CourseProsocial behaviour is any action that benefits others or society as a whole. It's the opposite of antisocial behaviour and includes acts of kindness, generosity and cooperation. These behaviours are essential for building strong communities and maintaining healthy relationships.
Key Definitions:
Prosocial behaviour creates a positive cycle in society. When people help others, it builds trust, strengthens communities and encourages more helping behaviour. Research shows that both giving and receiving help can improve mental health and life satisfaction.
Prosocial behaviour can be categorised into three main types, each serving different purposes and occurring in various situations. Understanding these categories helps us recognise the many ways people can positively impact others' lives.
Helping behaviour involves providing assistance to someone in need. This can range from small everyday acts to major life-saving interventions. The key characteristic is that the helper takes action to improve another person's situation or wellbeing.
Immediate assistance during crises, such as calling 999, performing first aid, or rescuing someone from danger. This type of helping often occurs spontaneously and requires quick decision-making.
Supporting others with schoolwork, tutoring, or explaining difficult concepts. This type of helping builds knowledge and skills whilst strengthening peer relationships.
Providing comfort, listening to problems, or offering encouragement during difficult times. This support helps people cope with stress and feel less alone.
In 1964, Kitty Genovese was attacked in New York whilst 38 people witnessed the incident, yet no one helped. This led psychologists Latané and Darley to study why people sometimes fail to help in emergencies. They discovered the "bystander effect" - the more people present, the less likely any individual is to help. This happens because people assume someone else will take action (diffusion of responsibility) and look to others for cues about how to respond (social influence).
Sharing involves giving part of what you have to others, whether it's material possessions, time, knowledge, or experiences. This behaviour demonstrates generosity and consideration for others' needs and wants.
Types of Sharing:
Children typically begin sharing around age 2-3, starting with simple acts like offering food or toys. By age 5-6, they understand fairness and reciprocity. Teenagers often share through social media, group activities and peer support, developing more complex sharing behaviours.
Caring behaviour involves showing concern, compassion and responsibility for others' wellbeing. It's often ongoing rather than a single act and involves emotional investment in another person's welfare.
Looking after siblings, helping elderly relatives, or supporting family members through difficult times. This creates strong family bonds and teaches responsibility.
Caring for pets, wildlife, or supporting animal welfare causes. This develops empathy and teaches about responsibility for vulnerable beings.
Protecting the environment through recycling, conservation, or activism. This shows concern for future generations and the planet's wellbeing.
Several psychological and social factors determine when and why people engage in prosocial behaviour. Understanding these factors helps explain why some people are more helpful than others and why helping varies across situations.
Empathy: People with higher empathy are more likely to help others because they can understand and feel others' emotions.
Mood: Good moods increase helping behaviour, whilst bad moods can either increase helping (to feel better) or decrease it (due to self-focus).
Personality: Some people are naturally more helpful due to traits like agreeableness and conscientiousness.
Time Pressure: People in a hurry are less likely to help others, even if they notice someone in need.
Social Norms: Cultural expectations about helping influence behaviour. Some cultures emphasise collective responsibility more than others.
Similarity: People are more likely to help those who are similar to them in appearance, background, or beliefs.
Psychologists Darley and Batson conducted a famous experiment with seminary students who were asked to give a talk about the Good Samaritan parable. On their way to give the talk, they encountered a person slumped in a doorway, apparently in distress. The key finding was that students who were told they were late were much less likely to stop and help (10%) compared to those who had plenty of time (63%). This showed that situational factors like time pressure can override personal values and training.
Prosocial behaviour develops throughout childhood and adolescence, influenced by cognitive development, social learning and moral reasoning. Understanding this development helps explain how to encourage prosocial behaviour in young people.
Young children begin showing prosocial behaviour through simple acts like comforting crying peers or sharing toys. At this stage, helping is often spontaneous and based on emotional responses rather than complex reasoning.
Key Developments:
Children develop more sophisticated understanding of fairness, reciprocity and social rules. They begin to help based on moral principles rather than just emotional responses.
Children understand concepts of fairness and justice. They learn that helping others is "the right thing to do" and begin to feel guilty when they don't help someone in need.
Teenagers develop abstract thinking about moral issues and can consider multiple perspectives. They may engage in prosocial behaviour to develop identity, gain social approval, or express values.
Teenage Prosocial Behaviour:
Engaging in prosocial behaviour benefits not only the recipients but also the helpers themselves and society as a whole. Research consistently shows positive outcomes for all involved.
Helping others increases happiness, self-esteem and life satisfaction. It can reduce stress, improve physical health and create a sense of purpose and meaning.
Prosocial behaviour strengthens relationships, builds trust and creates positive social networks. It encourages reciprocity and cooperation in communities.
Widespread prosocial behaviour creates safer, more cohesive communities. It reduces social problems, increases civic engagement and promotes social justice.
Research by Allan Luks found that people who help others regularly experience a "helper's high" - a rush of positive emotions followed by a longer period of improved wellbeing. Brain scans show that helping others activates the same reward centres as receiving rewards ourselves. This suggests that humans are naturally wired to find helping others rewarding, supporting the idea that prosocial behaviour is fundamental to human nature.
Understanding how to promote prosocial behaviour is important for parents, teachers and society. Various strategies can effectively encourage helping, sharing and caring behaviours.
Modelling: Demonstrating prosocial behaviour for others to observe and imitate.
Recognition: Acknowledging and praising prosocial acts to reinforce the behaviour.
Opportunities: Creating situations where people can help others, such as volunteer programmes.
Education: Teaching about empathy, social responsibility and the importance of helping others.