Culture & Prosocial Behaviour (DP IB Psychology)
Revision Note
Cultural differences in prosocial behaviour
Culture influences many aspects of an individual's life, for example:
food
art and music
religion
work and school
relationships
The culture that a person grows up in also exerts an influence on their prosocial behaviour:
cultural norms make inroads into behaviour, attitudes and viewpoints
Some cultures may value the idea of helping others while other cultures may be more centred on promotion of the self and individual needs
The cultural dimension of individualism/collectivism outlines the value systems within both types of culture that develop as communities evolve, being passed on from one generation to the next, for example:
collectivist cultures place emphasis and value on the group
individualistic cultures place emphasis on the individual
collectivist cultures promote ideas of unity, togetherness and cohesion
individualistic cultures promote ideas of independence, autonomy and freedom
In terms of prosocial behaviour the differences between the two cultures include:
Feelings of duty and responsibility towards the group (collectivist cultures)
Feelings of ‘looking out for number 1’ i.e. egoism (individualistic cultures)
Examples of differences in prosocial behaviour across cultures include:
People from collectivist cultures may help extended family members more than in individualistic cultures e.g. by asking grandparents to move in to the family home
People from individualistic cultures may donate money to a charity in order to alleviate feelings of guilt
Donating to a charity is also an indirect form of helping i.e. the donor doesn’t have to actually do anything other than simply give money
Examiner Tip
Don’t be judgmental in an exam by stating that one culture is more/less prosocial than the other; you will need to highlight cultural differences but you are not required to comment on how good/bad each culture is.
Research which investigates cultural differences in prosocial behaviour
Levine et al. (2001): large-scale cross-cultural field study of prosocial behaviour
Aknin et al. (2013): cross-cultural survey on prosocial spending i.e. donating to a charity
Levine et al. (2001) and Aknin et al. (2013) are available as ‘Two Key Studies of Cultural Differences in Prosocial Behaviour’ – just navigate the Social Responsibility section to find them.
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