Prosocial Behavior
Much
of what we tend to focus on when we study social psychology are topics
that often have a negative connotation such as conformity, prejudice,
aggression or obedience. A huge component of the study of social
psychology; however, focuses on prosocial behavior – behaviors that
focus on compassion and helping others. For this activity, you will
focus on this more uplifting aspect of social psychology. Topics that
fall under the area of prosocial behavior include altruism, helping,
bystander intervention, empathy, and compassion, among others.
For this exercise, pick one day and seek to structure your thoughts and
behaviors entirely around helping others. With each interaction or
action you take, pause to think and ask yourself “is there a way I might
help another here?” Hold a door for someone, offer your seat, share a
smile, give a sincere compliment, show empathy to another, attempt to be
more patient or understanding, etc. Your efforts should be in social
settings that involve interactions with others (rather than something
such as donating to a charity for instance). The goal is to be as
thoughtfully prosocial in your interactions throughout the day as
possible.
At the beginning of the day, jot down your general mood, feelings, attitude, etc.
Then throughout the day, whenever possible, carry a small notebook with
you or make notes in an app on your phone to jot down meaningful
encounters or experiences as you attempt to engage in prosocial
behaviors.
At the end of the day, again reflect and take notes on how you feel, your general mood, feelings and attitudes, etc.
In a 5-7 slide PowerPoint presentation, not counting title or reference slides:
Summarize your experience. Describe the prosocial behaviors you engaged
in, others’ reactions to these behaviors, and your assessment of any
changes in mood, attitude, good fortune, or anything else of note you
experienced.
Review what you have learned about human behavior in social settings
this week in your readings. Connect what you learned or experienced
through your day of conscious, prosocial behavior with the terms,
concepts, and theories from your research. Integrate at least two
academic sources (your assigned readings/resources can comprise one of
these sources), citing any references used in APA format.
Describe any new insights you gained through this experience about your
interactions with others on a daily basis, including any behaviors you
wish to change or to continue.
Use the features of PowerPoint to your advantage to communicate your
ideas – include pictures, audio recorded narration, speaker’s notes,
video, links, etc. as appropriate to enhance your ideas.
Include an APA formatted title slide and reference slide. APA components
such as an abstract, headings, etc. are not required since this is a
PowerPoint presentation.
Submit your presentation as an attachment in the Week 7 Assignment
Prosocial Behavior link in the Assignments area of the classroom no
later than 11:55 pm EST Sunday of Week 7.
Week 7 Exercise: Prosocial Behavior
Component
Exemplary
Accomplished
Developing
Beginning
Did Not Attempt
Points Earned
Describe the prosocial behaviors, reactions and impact
50 Points Possible
Student provides a detailed, insightful description of prosocial behavior, reactions and impact on others.
Student provides a complete description of prosocial behavior, reactions and impact on others.
Student provides a marginal description of prosocial behavior, reactions and impact on others.
Student attempts to provide a description of prosocial behavior,
reactions and impact on others but description does not demonstrate an
understanding of the concept.
Student does not describe prosocial behavior, reactions or impact on others.
Connection of experiences to theory
50 Points Possible
Student provides an accurate, thorough description of the connections
between experiences and relevant psychological theory using many
examples from the literature.
Student provides a mostly accurate description of the connections
between experiences and relevant psychological theory using at least two
examples from the literature.
Student provides a marginal description of the connections between
experiences and relevant psychological theory using at least one example
from the literature.
Student attempts to provide a description of the connections between
experiences and relevant psychological theory but does not use examples
from the literature for support.
Student does not provide a description of the connections between experiences and relevant psychological theory.
Behavioral insights and changes/continuation
20 Points Possible
Student provides an insightful discussion of how the information gleaned will impact future behaviors.
Student provides a discussion of how the information gleaned will impact future behaviors.
Student provides a marginal discussion of how the information gleaned will impact future behaviors.
Student attempts to provide a discussion of how the information gleaned
will impact future behaviors, but discussion does not demonstrate an
understanding of the concepts.
Student does not provide a discussion of how the information gleaned will impact future behaviors.
Formatting/Writing
30 Points Possible
Work is presented in a logical and coherent way. Writing is clear,
articulate, and error free. Citations are composed in proper format with
few or no errors. Powerpoint is engaging and visually effective.
Work is grammatically sound with a few minor errors. Citations are
composed in the proper format with some errors. Powerpoint is used
effectively.
Work contains frequent grammatical errors. Citations are inaccurate or
improperly formatted. Presentation is somewhat hard to follow and/or
does not make effective use of common features (images, bullet points,
speaker’s notes, etc…).
Writing errors are so prevalent as to interfere with understanding of
the content. Presentation is confusing, hard to read, and difficult to
follow.
Work does not demonstrate appropriate undergraduate level writing. Presentation is not included.
Summary Comments:
Total Points Possible:
/150
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