Title Details

Stefan Stürmer, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at the Fern Universität in Hagen (Germany), and the Chair in Social Psychology. In his research, he investigates inter- and intragroup processes, with a particular emphasis on the role of group processes in social movement participation, cooperation, helping, and altruism. He also serves as a consultant for various city councils and community agencies, concerning measures and policies to foster community action and civic participation.

Mark Snyder, Ph.D., is Professor of Psychology at the University of Minnesota, where he holds the McKnight Presidential Chair in Psychology and is the Director of the Center for the Study of the Individual and Society. His research examines the motivational foundations of individual and collective action. He is recipient of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology’s Donald T. Campbell Award and the Kurt Lewin Award of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. He is the author of the book, Public Appearances/Private Realities: The Psychology of Self-Monitoring, and co-editor of Cooperation: The Political Psychology of Effective Human Interaction.

List of Contributors

Acknowledgments

Introduction:

The Psychological Study of Group Processes and Intergroup Relations in Prosocial Behavior: Past, Present, Future: Stefan Stürmer (FernUniversität Hagen) and Mark Snyder (University of Minnesota).

Part I: Motivations for Helping In-Group and Out-Group Members:

1. The Tribal Instinct Hypothesis: Evolution and the Social Psychology of Intergroup Relations: Mark van Vugt (University of Kent at Canterbury) and Justin H. Park (University of Groningen, The Netherlands).

2. Helping "Us" versus "Them": Towards a Group-Level Theory of Helping and Altruism Within and Across Group Boundaries: Stefan Stürmer (FernUniversität Hagen) and Mark Snyder (University of Minnesota).

3. Stigmas and Prosocial Behavior: Are People Reluctant to Help Stigmatized Persons?: John B. Pryor (Illinois State University), Glenn D. Reeder (Illinois State University), Andrew E. Monroe (University of Oregon), and Arati Patel (Illinois State University).

4. The Strategic Side of Out-Group Helping: Esther van Leeuwen (Free University Amsterdam) and Susanne Täuber (Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena).

Part II: Consequences of Giving or Receiving Help in the Context of Groups:

5. Discrimination Against Out-Group Members in Helping Situations: Donald A. Saucier (Kansas State University), Jessica L. McManus (Kansas State University), and Sara J. Smith (Kansas State University).

6. Receiving Help: Consequences for the Recipient: Samer Halabi (Zefat Academic College) and Arie Nadler (Tel Aviv University).

7. Turning to Others in Times of Change: Social Identity and Coping with Stress: Jolanda Jetten (University of Queensland/University of Exeter), S. Alexander Haslam (University of Exeter), Aarti Iyer (University of Queensland), and Catherine Haslam (University of Exeter).

8. Volunteering Across the Life Span: Doing Well by Doing Good: Jane Allyn Piliavin (Professor Emerita, University of Wisconsin-Madison).

Part III: Intervention Strategies: Targeting Individuals, Groups, and Organizations:

9. Perspective Taking and Intergroup Helping: Mark H. Davis (Eckerd College) and Angela T. Maitner (University of Kent).

10. Recategorization and Prosocial Behavior: Common In-Group Identity and a Dual Identity: John F. Dovidio (Yale University), Samuel L. Gaertner (University of Delaware), Nurit Shnabel (Yale University), Tamar Saguy (University of Connecticut), and James Johnson (University of North Carolina).

11. Groups, Identities, and Bystander Behavior: How Group Processes Can Be Used to Promote Helping: Mark Levine (Lancaster University) and Clare Cassidy (deceased, formerly University of St. Andrews).

12. Influences of Psychological Sense of Community on Voluntary Helping and Prosocial Action: Allen M. Omoto (Claremont Graduate University) and Mark Snyder (University of Minnesota).

13. Empowering the Volunteer Organization: What Volunteer Organizations Can Do to Recruit, Content, and Retain Volunteers: Naomi Ellemers (Leiden University) and Edwin J. Boezeman (Leiden University).

Part IV: The Broader Picture: Political and Societal Implications:

14. Interpersonal and Intergroup Helping Relations as Power Relations: Implications for Real-World Helping: Arie Nadler (Tel Aviv University).

15. Beyond Help: A Social Psychology of Collective Solidarity and Social Cohesion: Stephen Reicher (University of St. Andrews) and S. Alexander Haslam (University of Exeter).

16. Cross-Group Helping: Perspectives on Why and Why Not: Stephen C. Wright (Simon Fraser University) and Norann T. Richard (Simon Fraser University).

17. Helping Disadvantaged Out-Groups Challenge Unjust Inequality: The Role of Group-Based Emotions: Aarti Iyer (University of Queensland) and Colin Wayne Leach (University of Connecticut).

Bibliography.

Author Index.

Subject Index.

"This book is essential reading for anybody who is interested in prosocial behaviour, or in applying social identity processes to relevant real-world situations." (Psychologist, January 2010) "At a time when crises are springing up everywhere at home and abroad, and evil appears to be marshaling mighty forces, nothing could be more timely and needed than this brilliant collection of insightful contributions about how to elicit the best in human nature. The Psychology of Prosocial Behavior is must reading for understanding how to elicit helping, volunteering, altruism, and yes even heroism from ordinary people—our neighbors and us all."
–Philip Zimbardo, Ph.D., Author of The Lucifer Effect and The Time Paradox

"This volume makes a unique and significant contribution to the social science literature by bringing together research and theory on social identity, groups, and intergroup relations with traditional topics in the study of prosocial behavior.  The contributors are major figures from both of these fields of research and their combined efforts bring a new level of understanding of how human propensities toward helping and altruism are influenced by group memberships and intra- and inter-group processes.  A major step forward in the social psychology of sociality."
–Marilynn Brewer, University of New South Wales