24.8: Key Takeways

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Some people—for instance, those with altruistic personalities—are more helpful than others.
Gender differences in helping depend on the type of helping that is required. Men are more likely to help in situations that involve physical strength, whereas women are more likely to help in situations that involve long-term nurturance and caring, particularly within close relationships.
Our perception of the amount of the need is important. We tend to provide less help to people who seem to have brought on their own problems or who don’t seem to be working very hard to solve them on their own.
In some cases, helping can create negative consequences. Dependency-oriented help may make the helped feel negative emotions, such as embarrassment and worry that they are seen as incompetent or dependent. Autonomy-oriented help is more easily accepted and will be more beneficial in the long run.
Norms about helping vary across cultures, for instance, between Eastern and Western cultures.
We can increase helping by using our theoretical knowledge about the factors that produce it. Our strategies can be based on using both self-concern and other-concern.

EXERCISES AND CRITICAL THINKING

Consider your own personality and compare it to that of some other people you know. Do you have an altruistic personality? Do you know people who seem to have one?
Imagine that you knew someone who was ill and needed help. How would you frame your help to make him or her willing to accept it?
Assume for a moment that you were in charge of creating an advertising campaign designed to increase people’s altruism. On the basis of your reading, what approaches might you take?