Explain the four decision points that people must pass through before giving help, and describe two factors that discourage people from providing help and two factors that encourage people to provide help

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Answer will include the following: (1) First, people must notice that something is happening. Many times, people in crowds typically "keep their eyes to themselves," so if you are a victim, you have to get people's attention. (2) People must define the situation as an emergency. Because no one wants to overreact, sometimes precious moments pass before a situation is defined as an emergency. (3) The most crucial step in helping is assuming responsibility. Being in a group limits helping by causing a diffusion of responsibility. (4) The person must select a course of action. Factors that might discourage a person from giving help include: being inhibited by the presence of others, which causes a diffusion of responsibility (spreading the responsibility among several people) and the high cost of helping either in time, money, or risk. People are motivated to help when they experience heightened arousal. This aroused, keyed-up feeling can motivate us to give aid, but only if the rewards of helping outweigh the costs. In addition to general arousal, potential helpers may also feel empathic arousal. This means they empathize with the person in need or feel some of the person's pain, fear, or anguish. Helping is much more likely when we are able to take the perspective of others and feel sympathy for their plight. Empathic arousal is especially likely to motivate helping when the person in need seems to be similar to ourselves. In fact, a feeling of connection to the victim may be one of the most important factors in helping. This, perhaps, is why being in a good mood also increases helping. When we are feeling successful, happy, or fortunate, we may also feel more connected to others. In summary, there must be a strong empathy-helping relationship, that is, we are most likely to help someone in need when we "feel for" that person and experience emotions such as empathy, sympathy, and compassion.