Social Psychology of Helping Relations

ARIE NADLER, PHD is Professor Emeritus of Psychology at Tel Aviv University. He has authored more than 100 scholarly papers and chapters and edited 6 scholarly books in Social Psychology. He was the incumbent of the Argentina Chair for Research in Social Psychology, the Head of the Department of Psychology, and the Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at Tel Aviv University. He was also the academic director of the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research, and the head of the Institute of Diplomacy and Regional Cooperation at Tel Aviv University.

• Acknowledgement xi1 General Introduction 11.1 Helping Relations: Social Belongingness and Social Hierarchy 11.2 “Helping” in Social Psychology: Definitions and Concepts 41.3 Perspective on Helping Relations and Outline 61.3.1 Present Perspective on Helping Relations 61.3.2 Outline of Book Contents 82 Broad Perspectives: Philosophical and Psychological Theory, Evolution, and Overview of Social Psychological Research 112.1 Early Philosophical and Psychological Theory 112.1.1 Helping: Belongingness and Solidarity 112.1.2 Helping Relations as Hierarchical Relations 132.2 Evolutionary Perspectives on Helping Relations 162.2.1 The Evolutionary Basis of Generosity 162.2.1.1 Kin Selection and Inclusive Fitness 172.2.1.2 Reciprocal Altruism 182.2.1.3 Group Selection 192.2.2 Evolutionary Basis of Helping as Hierarchical Relations 202.3 Overview of Social Psychological Research 223 Social Psychology of Help-Giving: The When, Who, and Why of Help‐Giving 273.1 The “When” of Help‐Giving: Characteristics of the Situation 293.1.1 Bystander Intervention 293.1.1.1 The Beginning 293.1.1.2 Bystander Intervention: The Social Identity Perspective 343.1.1.3 Bystander Intervention: Concluding Comments 363.1.2 Social Norms and Helping: Sharing, Social Responsibility, Reciprocity 373.1.2.1 Sharing with Others 383.1.2.2 The Norm of Social Responsibility 393.1.2.3 Reciprocity 403.1.2.4 Socioeconomic Determinants of Social Responsibility and Reciprocity 423.1.3 Religiosity and Helpfulness 433.1.4 Cross‐Cultural Differences in Help‐Giving 453.1.4.1 Experimental Games 463.1.4.2 Social Psychological Research 483.2 Who Helps: Characteristics of the Helper 513.2.1 Developmental Antecedents 513.2.1.1 The Development of Empathy: from “Global Empathic Distress” to “Adult Empathy” 523.2.1.2 Socialization Practices 543.2.2 Characteristics of the Helpful Person’s Personality 583.2.2.1 The ABC of the Helpful Personality 603.2.2.2 Attachment and Helpfulness 633.2.2.3 Beyond Empathy and Attachment: Metaphors, Awe, and Vagal Activity 653.2.3 The Demographics of the Helpful Person: Who Helps More: Men? Women? Rich? Poor? 663.2.3.1 Gender Differences in Helping 663.2.3.2 Socioeconomic Differences: Helpfulness of the Rich and the Poor 703.3 “Why Help?”: Empathy, Attribution and Prestige 753.3.1 Empathy: Altruism or Selfishness 763.3.2 The Quest for Prestige 803.3.3 Attributional Answers to Why Help 843.3.3.1 Do they Deserve It? 843.3.3.2 Models of Helping and Coping 874 From Help‐Giving to Helping Relations: Consequences of Giving and Receiving Help 914.1 Short‐ and Long‐term Consequences of Giving 914.2 Receiving Help: Gratitude and Threat to Self‐Esteem 964.2.1 Receiving Help as a Self‐Supportive Experience: Gratitude 984.2.1.1 Benefit‐Triggered/Situational Gratitude: Antecedents and Consequences 994.2.1.2 Dispositional Gratitude 1074.2.2 The Negative Consequences of Receiving Help: The Self‐Threat in Dependency 1094.2.2.1 Who is the Helper? Effects of Helper Identity on Receptivity to Help 1124.2.2.2 The How of Help: Characteristics of the Help Provided 1174.2.2.3 Effects of Recipient Characteristics on Receptivity to Help 1224.2.2.4 Cultural Variables: Individualistic and Collectivistic Cultures 1254.2.2.5 The Recipient’s Personality Characteristics 1295 Intergroup Helping Relations 1395.1 Giving Within the Group: Solidarity or Discrimination? 1405.1.1 The Motivation for Ingroup and Outgroup Helping: Empathy and Attraction 1425.2 Giving Across Group Boundaries 1455.2.1 Strategic Helping 1455.2.2 Discriminatory Helping: Giving Across Racial Boundaries 1465.2.2.1 Discriminatory Helping as Aversive Racism 1485.2.2.2 Overcoming Discriminatory Helping: Common Group Identity 1495.3 Intergroup Helping Relations in Structurally Unequal Contexts 1515.3.1 The Intergroup Helping as Status Relations (IHSR) Model 1525.3.1.1 The Social Structure: Security of Social Hierarchy 1525.3.1.2 Characteristics of the Help: Autonomy‐ and Dependency‐Oriented Help 1545.3.1.3 Personal Characteristics of Group Members 1545.3.2 The Low‐Status Group: Seeking and Receiving from the Advantaged Group 1565.3.3 The High‐Status Group: Giving to the Disadvantaged 1595.3.3.1 Defensive Helping: Helping to Protect Ingroup’s Status 1605.3.3.2 Perceptions of Help Seeking by High‐ and Low‐Status Group Members 1645.4 Closing Comments: Intergroup Helping 1666 Concluding Comments 1696.1 Solidarity and Hierarchy in Helping Relations 1696.2 Beyond the Help/No Help Dichotomy 1706.3 From Helping to Equality‐Based Interactions 172References 175Index 213