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12.7 QUESTIONS : 
1. 
What is prosocial behaviour? Discuss the different views that 
explain prosocial behaviour. 
2. 
What is bystander effect? Explain the steps in determining 
helping or non-helping behaviour. 
3. 
Write a note on personality and helping behaviours. 
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13 
 
 
 
EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL INFLUENCES 
ON HELPING BEHAVIOUR AND 
VOLUNTEERING AS PROSOCIAL 
BEHAVIOUR 
 
 
This unit explains the internal and external factors that 
influence helping behaviour – The situational factors that enhance 
or inhibit helping.
Research by social psychologists has revealed that following 
are the factors that might influence helping behaviour. 
a) People are more likely to help whom they know, but the 
situation is more complex, when strangers are in the need of 
help. 
b) Research done by Hayden, Jackson and Guydish (1984), has 
shown that we are more likely to help people whom we like, they 
may be our family members or friends. 
c) Any characteristics that affect attraction, rather that leads to 
increase in attraction leads to prosocial behaviour. Physically 
attractive people are more likely to get help than those who are 
unattractive (Benson, Karabrinks and Leener 1976). 
d) Men are more likely to help women rather than men, not 
because of gender differences but because women are more 
likely than men to ask for help. 
e) If victims happen to share similar values he is more likely to be 
helped. Generally, we are more likely to help those people who 
evoke positive feelings in us. 
Helping those who mimic us – 
 
 
Mimicry is the automatic tendency to imitate behaviour of 
those with whom we interact. Human beings are more likely to 
mimic accent, tone of voice, and rate of speech of people around 
them. The postures, mannerisms and moods of people around are 
also mimicked. This is an innate tendency; it has a positive impact 
on the persons being mimicked. Mimicry increases empathy and 
social attraction and one of the important effects of mimicry is that it 
increases prosocial behaviour. (Van Bawen et at 2003). 

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The following experiment is an example of deliberate 
mimicry. 
The research participants interacted for six minutes either 
with an experimenter, who copied their posture, body orientation or 
position of arms and legs or with the experimenter who was not 
copying. Afterwards experimenter accidently dropped several pens 
on the floor. All the research participants who had been mimicked 
helped the experimenter by picking up pens as compared with 
those who were not mimicked. 
In another experiment additional experimental conditions 
were investigated and in each condition it was observed that those 
who were mimicked were likely to be helped that those who were 
not mimicked. 
This research confirmed that mimicry increases the chances 
of indulging in prosocial behaviour. 
Some investigators feel that mimicry has such an effect on 
prosocial behaviour that it plays an important role in survival and 
reproductive success because it enhances cohesion and safety 
among animals in a group (Dijksterhuis Bargh and Miedema, 2000).
When one person mimics another person there is a message that 
we are similar.