When Do People Help?

Note: These questions are part of a larger data base of questions on module 30. The questions 
are selected to represent the type of question you should expect on unit exam three. You can, in fact, 
expect to see many of these very same questions on that exam. Exam questions, however, may deal 
with topics not covered in the self tests or in lectures but are discussed in your textbook. You are 
responsible for the content of your text book plus the content of lectures, interactive activities, 
& material on the web site.

---- Use these sample questions to test yourself & to practice for the test. ----

1. Two social norms that can motivate helping behavior are

 social exchange & reciprocity.
  kin selection & moral inclusion.
   reciprocity & social responsibility.
    social responsibility & kin selection.

2. According to social exchange theory, relationships are best understood by: 

 applying evolutionary theory to social behaviour. 
 assuming that others will treat us the way we treat them. 
 realizing that people desire to maximize their rewards & minimize their costs. 
 examining people's use of information gleaned by observing others in the situation. 

3. The Bystander Effect can be defined as: 

 - the attempt to help people regardless of what we have to gain. 
 - the assumption that others will treat us the way we treat them. 
 - the likelihood that people will perform impulsive & deviant acts increases as group size increases. 
 - the likelihood that any one person will help decreases as the number of witnesses to an 
 emergency increases. 

4. Helping behaviour that is performed even when it has a cost to the helper is 

 altruism. 
 reciprocity. 
 kin selection. 
 prosocial behaviour. 

5. Which of the following best illustrates the kind of thinking influenced by diffusion of responsibility 
throughout a group? 

 "I hope I don't make things worse than they already are by trying to help." 
 "Everyone seems to be reacting calmly. Maybe there's no real problem." 
 "Why should I risk helping when others could as easily help?" 
 "If no one else is offering help, I guess it's up to me." 

6. Having identified a situation as a clear emergency requiring help, helping may still be inhibited by 

 diffusion of responsibility. 
 pluralistic ignorance. 
 overjustification. 
 distraction. 

7. The vicarious experience of another’s feeling is 
 
 egoism. 
 altruism. 
 empathy. 
 voyeurism. 

8. If you find a lost wallet, you ought to return it to its owner or turn it in to the proper authorities. 
Such a set of rules for how you ought to behave is called a 

 norm. 
 template. 
 natural law. 
 moral schema. 

9. The social-responsibility norm refers to the expectation that 

 people will help when necessary in order to receive help themselves later. 
  to receive help, people have the responsibility to ask for it. 
   leaders should help more than regular group members. 
    people will help those who depend on them. 

10. Darley & Latanι describe a sequence of decisions a bystander must make before he or she 
will intervene in an emergency. Which of the following is not one of the specific steps? 

 noticing the incident 
  assessing the victim’s desire for help 
   interpreting the incident as an emergency 
    assuming personal responsibility for intervening 

11. A person selling memberships in a magazine club hands potential buyers a bookmark before beginning the sales pitch. 
This person is trying to boost sales by taking advantage of the:

•  reciprocity norm. 
 •  four-walls technique. 
  •  foot-in-the-door technique. 
   •  principle of cognitive dissonance.
   
12. A person who witnesses an emergency alone is ________ than a person who witnesses an emergency in the presence 
of others.

•  likely to be much less frightened 
 •  likely to be much more frightened 
  •  less likely to come to the victim's aid 
   •  more likely to come to the victim's aid
   
13. ________ most often follows the inadvertent violation of a social norm or the receipt of unexpected attention 
from others.

•  guilt 
 •  shame 
  •  humility 
   •  embarrassment
   
14. An example of pure altruism would be the 

•  providing for your children to ensure their survival. 
 •  donating $5 million dollars to a university to name a building after yourself. 
  •  removing a woman from a burning building because you are upset by her screams. 
   •  doing of none of the above.
   
15. The dominant theory which explains "bystander apathy" say its due to 

•  modern city life. 
 •  alienation in modern life. 
  •  hostility toward strangers. 
   •  less feeling of responsibility when there are many witnesses. 
    •  people being afraid a criminal will find out they reported him & retaliate.
    
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                             Social Psychology
                               Robert C. Gates