Helpfulness

In social psychology, the everyday concept of helpfulness is the property of providing useful assistance; or friendliness evidenced by a kindly and helpful disposition.

For many years, social psychologists have been searching for answers to these questions:

Introduction

Rewards: Rewards can be internal or external. Internal rewards are rewards that increase our sense of self-worth. There are many different negative emotions that people try to reduce by performing good deeds. For example, people will do whatever can be done to expunge guilt, relieve their bad feelings, and restore their self-image (Meyers, 446). Being helpful helps to achieve these goals and can even offset other negative moods.

Feel Bad-Do Good Scenario: This effect states that those who feel bad for another person in a situation will be more likely to help compared to a person who feels bad for themselves in that situation. For example, a study was performed that had people imagine that their best friend had cancer. In this study, the researchers examined people's attention to grief. Those that were focused on the worries of the best friend were those that were more helpful compared to the people who had more selfish worries such as " I will have to act happy when really I am sad about my friends situation" (Meyers, 447).

Feel Good, Do Good Scenario: This scenario states that people who are in a good mood are more helpful. Thus, helping people enhances that positive feeling which creates positive thoughts and positive self-esteem.

Why Do People Help?

Several theories of helping agree that, in the long run, helping behavior benefits the giver as well as the receiver. One explanation involves actions guided by "social economics". This action is called the social exchange theory. It states that human interactions are transactions that aim to maximize one's rewards and minimize one's costs. We exchange not only material goods and money but also social goods - love, services, information status (Foa & Foa, 1975).

When Will People Help?

Circumstances that inhibit or enhance helpfulness include:

Who Will Help?

Whom to Help?

How To Increase Helping?

Research studies by social scientists have suggested that the following factors can help to increase helping:

References

See also

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