Two Key Studies of Cognitive Theories of Altruism (DP IB Psychology)
Revision Note
Key study one: Batson et al. (1981)
Aim: To test altruistic versus egoistic helping as predicted by the empathy-altruism hypothesis
Participants: 44 female psychology students from the University of Kansas
Procedure:
The participants were told that they would be working with another student, ‘Elaine’ in a study looking at how stress affects performance
Elaine was in fact a confederate who was working with the researchers
The participants were told that they had been randomly allocated to the position of observer
Elaine performed tasks (e.g. a test of memory) while the participants observed her over CCTV
Elaine was given electric shocks at random intervals, which were described as ‘moderately uncomfortable’
The independent variables were as follows:
Empathy: manipulated by giving them either very similar or very different questionnaire responses (supposedly filled in by Elaine) from their own:
participants in the similar condition believed that Elaine had filled in the questionnaire with responses almost identical to their own
participants in the dissimilar condition were not told anything about Elaine’s responses
Escape:
the difficult escape condition consisted of participants being told that they had to stay and keep observing Elaine for the whole 10 trials
the easy escape condition involved the participants being able to leave after observing two trials
The participants were then given the chance to swap places with Elaine and to take the shocks in her place
Results:
The similar (high empathy) condition:
most participants agreed to swap places with Elaine, regardless of whether escape was easy or difficult
The dissimilar (low empathy) condition:
most participants opted to leave early in the easy escape condition without offering to take Elaine’s place
Some participants in the low empathy group offered to take her place in the difficult escape condition
Conclusion:
There may be a difference between altruistic and egoistic helping:
in the high empathy condition it is more likely that help was given because Elaine appeared to be similar to the participants, and so help was offered even when escape was easy i.e. ‘She’s just like me’
the low empathy condition prompted more egoistic helping in the difficult escape condition
the above finding suggests that it was the discomfort of having to observe Elaine being shocked that prompted the offers of help rather than empathic concern
Evaluation of Batson et al. (1981)
Strengths
This is a well-designed experiment with four clear manipulations of the independent variable which increases reliability:
the use of quantitative data adds to the reliability of the research as the results are easy to compare and to analyse
the standardised procedure means that the study is replicable which means that the reliability of the findings can be checked for consistency
The higher levels of helping from the high-empathy group and difficult escape condition in the low empathy group support the EAH which means that the study has face validity
Limitations
The sample presents some issues:
the sample consisted of female-only participants who were on an introductory psychology course which makes generalising the results difficult due to gender bias
the use of this sample also sets up possible demand characteristics as, being psychology students, some of the participants may have guessed the true aim of the study and behaved in an self-conscious manner
There are ethical concerns with the procedure:
the participants were deceived as to the true aim of the research
they may have suffered distress at having to observe someone receiving electric shocks
those participants who did not offer to take Elaine’s place may also have experienced guilt at their ‘selfish’ behaviour
Key study two: Batson et al. (1989)
Aim: To test the negative state-relief model of prosocial behaviour
Participants:
44 students (20 male; 24 female),
The participants were enrolled on an introductory psychology course at the University of Kansas
Procedure:
The participants were randomly allocated to one of two conditions of the independent variable:
The depression of mood condition:
the participants were told that they would be watching a video that would cause them “moderate feelings of depression and sadness”
the enhancement of mood condition:
the participants were told that they would be watching a video that would cause “strong feelings of happiness and pleasure”
The participants in the depression of mood condition were asked to recall for a few minutes an event from their past that made them feel sad
The participants in the enhancement of mood condition were simply asked to explain everyday activities such as driving or performing household chores
The researcher left the room and a female confederate entered and asked the participants if they would be willing to give some time to help make phone calls related to blood donation, requiring their involvement in this helpful task up to a total of 10 calls
Results:
There were more offers of help from participants in the sad mood condition than in the positive mood condition
Conclusion:
The participants who had been induced to feel sad may have helped in a bid to female themselves feel better (self-reward)
The above finding supports the NSRM:
the participants offered to make the phone calls for blood donors in a bid to self-reward from helping
Evaluation of Batson et al. (1989)
Strengths
The use of naïve participants means that the validity of the results is strong:
the participants were not told that it was their offer (or not) of help that was being measured
this lack of awareness of the measure therefore reduces the possibility of demand characteristics.
The use of random allocation to condition and a single blind design means that the research has a degree of objectivity that increases its reliability
Limitations
Participant variables may have affected the validity of the findings:
some people are simply more helpful than others
some of the participants may have reacted strongly or negatively to the female confederate for a range of reasons e.g. she reminded them of someone they knew
some people are phobic about blood and so would be unlikely to volunteer to talk about it on the phone to strangers
This study only provides evidence of a single instance of altruism therefore it is not possible to state conclusively that the participants would be likely to behave in a similar way in other contexts, which means the study lacks external validity
Worked Example
ERQ (EXTENDED RESPONSE QUESTION) 22 MARKS
The question is, ‘Discuss psychological theories of prosocial behaviour’ [22]’
This question is asking you to provide a considered and balanced review of psychological theories of prosocial behaviour that includes a range of arguments, factors. Your conclusions should be presented clearly and supported by relevant studies. Here is one paragraph for guidance:
The empathy-altruism hypothesis (EAH) is based on the notion that acts of altruism are not necessarily simply motivated by a selfless desire to help someone in need. Batson proposed that an egoistic motivation may underlie some acts of altruism, which essentially makes such acts less altruistic and more self-serving. In essence, egoistic helping is driven by the need to alleviate the unpleasant, negative feelings that accompany the witnessing of another’s pain or for the positive rewards that helping brings e.g. material gain or a boost to self-esteem. This questions the whole definition of ‘altruism’ as an altruistic act is one that is performed without regard for reward and at some possible cost to the donor.
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