Define pro-social behavior
Pro-social behaviors are behaviors geared towards helping other individuals. “Pro-social behavior is characterized by a concern for the rights, feelings, and welfare of other people” ( Singh & Teoh, 2014) . Many behaviors can be defined as pro-social behaviors. They are inclusive but not limited to concerns for others, empathizing with others or behaving in a manner which helps others or benefits them. Pro-social behavior is also defined by other as "a broad range of actions intended to benefit one or more people other than oneself - behaviors such as helping, comforting, sharing and cooperation" ( Gächter et al., 2013). This term originated many years ago approximately in the 1970s and it was introduced by one of the famous scientists who used it as an antonym of the term "antisocial behavior." What has been noticed by most scientists who have majored on this topic is that pro-social behavior is ordinarily evident in children at a young stage and they strengthen as the child develops. Furthermore, scientist point at the difference on heredity, and nurture as the cause of the difference in the pro-social behavior ( Singh & Teoh, 2014).
Three potential conditions in which diffusion of responsibility might occur
“Diffusion of responsibility is a psychological phenomenon in which people are less likely to take action when in the presence of a large group of people.” A good example, in this case, is a situation where one is in the middle of crowd streets, then suddenly a man falls on the ground and stars convulsing, the crowd turns to look for him, but none offers any assistance or call for any help. The main reason behind this action is that at that particular time, nobody is usually ready to provide support. All most all the onlookers typically feel pressure to respond to such specific behavior. Psychologist and scientist have identified some conditions which diffusion of responsibility occurs typically ( Singh & Teoh, 2014).
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The first condition occurs when the onlookers do not know the victim. Helping strangers is one of the hardest things for many people. In case a stranger is involved in these cases, there is likely possibility that onlookers will expect somebody related to them to help them. The second reason which is pointed out is that in situations where the onlookers are not familiar with what is going with the victims, they may feel a lot of pressure and refuse to help them. They have been keen to notice that people often feel that either the person is pretending and yet have other intentions such as robbing and many others ( Winter & Franzen, 2017). These incidences have been reported in many occasions where people act to attract the attention of others and robe them off their properties. Moreover, in such case where the onlookers have less information concerning what is happening in those particular scenes, they are usually not sure whether or not the victim is in need of help ( Winter & Franzen, 2017). In this case, the onlookers are far less likely to offer any assistance even if required. The last reason is the qualification of the individual or the onlookers. Many scientist and psychologist also point out that in situations where the bystanders have no skill or have no knowledge of the kind of scene they are witnessing; they are less likely to offer any assistance. “A person who has received specific training in first aid and CPR will probably feel more capable of offering assistance” ( Winter & Franzen, 2017).
Steps of pro-social behavior and the significance of each level
The Bystander intervention Model gives provide us with five steps which are very important in this pro-social behavior. The first step as per this model is noticing that there is something unusual happening. This level is very paramount since it is the point where one is very keen and sees if another person is in need of help. This is the stage where in case the victim was in danger, and then he/she can be helped if noticed by the onlooker ( Winter & Franzen, 2017). The second step is deciding on whether or not there is something wrong and the help is needed. In this case, the onlooker after anticipating a typical scene with the victim, predict whether it poses a danger to the victim. For instance, it may be that the person is just sleeping or maybe he or she has suffered from heart attack. This step is significant since in case the victim in need of emergency, then he or she can be helped immediately and the worrying situation saved. The interpretation of this case makes this step very vital ( Winter & Franzen, 2017).
The next step in this model is to think if there race role the onlooker can play to help in saving the situation. In this case, one has to determine to what extent he/she can improve the situation. This usually affected by many issues. These are inclusive of the knowledge on the incidence, qualification and many others. In this case, if one has no requirements, they can call for immediate assistance. The next step is to know the exact type of help the victim is need of. This is very important since it will determine the recovery rate or whether or not the onlooker will help the victim. The last step is to decide on whether or not to implements the idea or help. This is what makes the difference on the pro-behavior among people, since other will simply walk away ( Singh & Teoh, 2014).
References
Gächter, S., Nosenzo, D., & Sefton, M. (2013). Peer effects in pro-social behavior: Social norms or social preferences?. Journal of the European Economic Association , 11 (3), 548-573.
Singh, S., & Teoh, V. Y. (2014). Enhancing pro-social behavior among college students: Exploring the role of general mindset. GSTF Journal of Law and Social Sciences (JLSS) , 3 (2), 28.
Winter, F., & Franzen, A. (2017). Diffusion of Responsibility in Norm Enforcement. Social dilemmas, institutions, and the evolution of cooperation , 303.
