Table Of ContentCOOPERATION AND
HELPING BEHAVIOR
Theories and Research
Edited by
Valerian J. Derlega
Department of Psychology
Old Dominion University
Norfolk, Virginia
Janusz Grzelak
Institute of Psychology
University of Warsaw
Warsaw, PoL·nd
ACADEMIC PRESS
A Subsidiary of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers
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Copyright © 1982, by Academic Press, Inc.
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Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Main entry under title:
Cooperation and helping behavior
Bibliography: p.
Includes index.
1. Helping behavior. 2. Cooperativeness. 3. Altruism.
I. Derlega, Valerian J. Π. Grzelak, Janusz. [DNLM:
1. Cooperative behavior. 2. Helping behavior. HM 132
D434c]
BF637.H4C66 158'.2 81-19130
ISBN 0-12-210820-5 AACR2
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
82 83 84 85 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To the metnory of my mother, Tekla Baran Derlega
—yjD
In honor of my parents, Regina and Czeslaw Grzelak
List of Contributors
Numbers in parentheses indicate the pages on which the authors' contributions begin.
JEAN CLAUDE ABRIC (73), Department de Psychologie, Universite de Prov
ence, Aix-en-Provence, France
EDDY VAN AVERMAET (43), Laboratorium voor Experimιntele Sociale Psy
chologie, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Tiensestraat 102, B-3000 Leu-
ven, Belgium
DANIEL BAR-TAL (377), School of Education, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv,
Israel
PETER J. D. CARNEVALE (151), Department of Psychology, State University
of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New^ York 14226
RUSSELL D. CLARK ill (279), Department of Psychology, Florida State
University, Tallahassee, Florida 32306
VALERIAN J. DERLEGA (1), Department of Psychology, Old Dominion Uni
versity, Norfolk, Virginia 23508
MORTON DEUTSCH (15), Department of Psychology, Program in Social
Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, New York
10027
JOHN F. DOVIDIO (279), Department of Psychology, Colgate University,
Hamilton, New York 13346
xiii
xiv List of Contributors
SAMUEL L GAERTNER (279), Department of Psychology, University of Del
aware, Newark, Delaware 19711
ALAN E. GROSS (305), Department of Psychology, University of Maryland,
College Park, Maryland 20742
JANUSZ GRZELAK (1, 95), Institute of Psychology, University of Warsaw,
ul. Stawki 5/7, 00-183 Warsaw, Poland
HARVEY A. HORNSTEIN (229), Department of Psychology, Program in Social
Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University, Newyork, New York
10027
JUDITH A. HOWARD (327), Department of Sociology, University of Wiscon
sin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
JERZY KARYLOWSKI (397), Department of Psychology, Polish Academy of
Sciences, Pi. Malachowskiego 00-063, Warsaw, Poland
MELVINJ. LERNER (249), Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo,
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
DARWYN E. UNDER (183), Department of Psychology, Arizona State Uni
versity, Tempe, Arizona 85281
GERALD MARWELL (207), Department of Sociology, University of Wiscon
sin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
CHARLES G. McCLINTOCK (43), Department of Psychology, University of
California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California 93106
PEG A. McMULLEN (305), Counseling Service, Washington University, St.
Louis, Missouri 63105
JANE ALLYN PILIAVIN (279), Department of Sociology, University of Wis
consin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53703
DEAN G. PRUITT (151), Department of Psychology, State University of New
York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York 14226
JACOB M. RABBIE (123), Institute of Social Psychology, University of Utrecht,
St. Jacobsstraat 14, 3511 BS Utrecht, Netherlands
AM I RAM RAVIV (377), Department of Psychology, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-
Aviv, Israel
JANUSZ REYKOWSKI (355), Department of Psychology, Polish Academy of
Sciences, Pi. Malachowskiego 00-063, Warsaw, Poland
SHALOM H. SCHWARTZ' (327), Department of Sociology, University of
Wisconsin—Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
RUTH SHARABANY (377), Department of Psychology, University of Haifa,
Haifa, Israel, and Department of Psychology, Tel Aviv University, Tel
Aviv, Israel
ROBERT B. ZAJONC (417), Institute for Social Research, University of Mich
igan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104
' Present address: Department of Psychology, The Hebrew University, Givat Ram Campus,
Jerusalem, Israel.
Preface
Several thousand years of civilization have brought about amazing eco
nomic and technological progress. We have learned how^ to control nuclear
pow^er and how to send men and women into space. At the same time, our
technology in solving human problems remains at about the same level as
it was centuries ago. We daily confront dramatic social problems of aggres
sion, delinquency, brutal competition, and social apathy, and we still do
not really know how to cope with these problems.
Relationships with other people are a critical aspect of human experience.
Our lives are spent in interaction with others. The nature of these inter
relationships varies, but a major component involves the coordination of
social interaction to facilitate the fulfillment of important, socially mediated
goals. People contribute to each other's attainment—a close friend listens
sympathetically to one's personal problems, a mother nurses her child,
drivers use less fuel to maintain an adequate supply of gasoline, a bystander
offers aid after seeing a severe accident occur. Understanding how to live
with other people is an important problem that confronts individuals, gov
ernments, and social scientists. Survival literally depends on how individuals
and groups coordinate their activities.
The goals that relationships fulfill for individuals take many forms. For
XV
XVI Preface
instance, such goals extend to the satisfaction of others' needs as well as
our own or may be limited to our own, purely personal satisfaction. Tech
nological progress is based on theoretical developments in physics, chem
istry, and mathematics. Similarly, any progress in the technology of solving
human problems requires theoretical progress in the social sciences. Thus
this book places heavy emphasis on theory and research with respect to
how individuals pursue goals contributing to others', as well as their own,
need satisfaction. "Positive forms of social behavior" is a label that has been
used to describe this overall field of study.
Two major traditions of theoiy and research on positive forms of social
behavior are represented in this book: cooperation and helping behavior.
Cooperative behavior leads to maximum joint profit for all involved parties
(i.e., individuals, groups, or organizations) in a situation in which all the
parties are interdependent (the actions of each influence others' gains or
losses). Helping behavior involves providing aid or benefit to others, usually
without direct evidence of benefit to the giver. Our book, we hope will
contribute to theoiy development and the integration of ideas in these areas
of study. Each chapter represents the most recent statement of its author's
or co-authors' theoretical positions.
Our introduction and the postscript by Robert Zajonc provide a perspective
and brief discussion of theories and research on cooperation and helping
behavior. Part I of the book includes chapters by researchers who have been
actively engaged in the study of cooperation. The first chapter in this part
is by Morton Deutsch, who places the problem of interdependence in a
larger context of interpersonal relations and analyzes types of interdepend
ence and individuals' psychological orientations. In subsequent chapters
Charles McClintock and Eddy Van Avermaet present a theoiy of values, Jean
Claude Abric discusses cognitive processes affecting cooperation, Janusz
Grzelak explores motivational and cognitive antecedents of cooperation,
Jacob Rabbie examines the effects of intergroup competition and cooperation
on intragroup and intergroup relationships, Dean G. Pruitt and Peter J. D.
Carnevale discuss the opportunities for gaining satisfactory solutions to
conflict through negotiation, Darwyn Linder examines social trap analogs
of social dilemmas such as the energy crisis and overpopulation, and Gerald
Marwell offers a socioeconomic analysis of altruism and the problem of
collective action.
Part II includes chapters by researchers who are active in the study of
helping behavior. Harvey Hornstein looks at psychological tension and help
ing behavior: Melvin Lerner considers justice-motive theory; Jane Allyn Pili
avin, John F. Dovidio, Samuel Gaertner, and Russell D. Clark, III, offer an
arousal and cost-reward theory of bystander intervention; Alan Gross and
Peg A. McMullen discuss the psychological aspects of receiving help; Shalom
Preface XVÜ
Schwartz and Judith Howard present a self-based motivational model; Jan
usz Reykowski explores cognitive motivational theory; Daniel Bar-Tal, Ruth
Sharabany, and Amiran Raviv offer a developmental stage theoiy of helping
behavior; and finally, Jerzy Karylowski discusses types of psychological mech
anisms underlying prosocial behavior and its development.
Our contributors work and live in different countries—Belgium, Canada,
France, Israel, the Netherlands, Poland, and the United States. This diverse
group of contributors reveals the richness of theory and research that has
developed in various cultural settings. A major goal of this book was to
facilitate an international exchange of ideas, and we hope we have accom
plished such an exchange through this enteφrise.
Many individuals and organizations contributed to the book's successful
completion. We are indebted to the authors for their thought-provoking
essays as well as for their patience during the 2V2-year evolution of this
book. We thank the staff of Academic Press for their enthusiasm and sup
port. The Institute of Psychology at Warsaw University, Poland, and the
Department of Psychology at Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia,
steadfastly supported us with their generosity and encouragement. We es
pecially owe thanks to Jan Strelau at Warsaw University and Raymond Kirby
and President Alfred Rollins at Old Dominion University. The book was
greatly facilitated by financial support from the International Research and
Exchanges Board (IREX) and the Kosciuszko Foundation. Thanks are also
due to Monica Presser, who typed a substantial portion of the manuscript
and to Barbara Z. Derlega, who prepared the index and gave valuable
editorial advice for several chapters. We were fortunate in having the pa
tience and emotional support of our families, Barbara and John Derlega and
Barbara and Simon Grzelak. We gratefully acknowledge their encourage
ment and aid.
Chapter 1
Cooperation
and Helping Behavior:
An Introduction
JANUSZ GRZELAK
VALERIAN J. DERLEGA
Imagine the following situations:
1. North America experienced a scorching heat wave during July and
August. Temperatures frequently rose above 100°F. People who were lucky
enough to have access to swimming pools spent their time cooling off in
the water. At the same time a tremendous burden was placed on utility
companies, which attempted to meet the heightened energy demand for
air conditioning. A plea went out in many communities for consumers to
conserve energy and to reduce their use of electrical appliances. Many com
panies raised the thermostats on air conditioners and dimmed hall lights.
Many households chose not to run washing machines and dryers during
the periods of peak energy demand. Individuals and organizations thus
cooperated to avoid a 'iDlackout" from excess energy demands. All people
felt obligated to reduce their energy consumption lest they risk an energy
disaster.
2. Paul Novak was in Grand Central Station in New York City. He wanted
to buy a ticket to Buffalo, New York, to visit his parents. While examining
the train timetable, he noticed a man and woman who were speaking
French and who looked lost. Paul felt some personal responsibility to help.
He certainly had no expectation of reward. He experienced a great deal of
1
αΟΟΡΕΚΑΉΟΝ AND HELPING BEHAVIOR Copyright © 1982 by Academic Press, Inc.
Theories and Research All rights of reproduction in anv form reserved.
ISBN 0-12-210820-5
2 Janusz Grzelak and Valerian J. Derlega
sympathy for the couple, and felt good inside as he helped them go to the
Traveler's Aid office, where someone understood French and could help
them. Paul left before anyone could thank him.
3. Joan Rader had just heard that her supervisor's father was gravely ill.
Her supervisor, Karin, asked Joan to give blood at a local hospital. Joan was
reluctant to give blood, since she had never done that before. Joan was
concerned about her position at the office, and she decided to give blood
so that her supervisor would have no reason to take any action against her
in the future.
Cooperation and Helping Behavior: Similarities
and Dissimilarities in the Domains of Research
What is the difference between cooperation and helping behavior? A great
deal of confusion surrounds this question. There are some important dif
ferences between these two phenomena that reflect differences in research
and theory. In this chapter, though, we want to suggest that the traditional
distinctions between cooperation and helping may be somewhat artificial.
These distinctions seem to derive from an exaggerated emphasis on minor
differences in the nature of each behavior and in varying theoretical ap
proaches to each that focus on different facets of prosocial behavior.
Some major similarities between cooperation and helping behavior should
be noted first. Both behaviors fall under the general category of positive
social behavior (see, e.g.. Staub, 1980; Wispé, 1972). Both types of behavior
increase other persons' positive outcomes. Consider, for instance, the first
two illustrations at the beginning of this chapter: Individuals who did not
run energy-consuming appliances during peak periods increased others' as
well as their own future well-being; Paul helped the French-speaking couple
escape from a difficult situation, presumably making them feel better. These
particular examples also reflect some real dissimilarities between cooper
ation and helping behavior that have traditionally been emphasized: the
structure of interdependence in the social situation and the choice of a
situational versus personality-oriented approach to research and theory
construction.
Structure of Interdeperidence in Social Situations
The interests of energy consumers in a given district are interrelated. An
action taken by one individual (such as the decision either to save energy
or to overuse it) affects others' interests and, at the same time, others'
actions influence the individual. This situation involves social interdepend-
