Psychology

Attribution and Models of Helping

The text suggests that finding dispositional versus situational causes for poverty and unemployment can greatly affect our attitudes and actions. Philip Brickman and his colleagues have indicated that whether we help people in need and how we help them depends largely on our answers to two important questions: Who is responsible for the problem? Who is responsible for the solution?

In Brickman's moral model, people are held responsible for both their problems and finding the solutions. They are most in need of proper motivation. Helpers are likely to say, "You got yourself into this mess, now get yourself out." Helpers simply exhort people to assume responsibility for their problems and find their own way out.

In the compensatory model, people are not seen as responsible for problems, but they are responsible for getting solutions. Jesse Jackson once stated, "You are not responsible for being down, but you are responsible for getting up." People need the resources or the opportunities that the helper may provide. Nonetheless, the responsibility for using this assistance rests with the recipient.

In the medical model, people are seen as responsible for neither the problem nor the solution. Helpers say, "You are ill, and I will try to make you better."

In the enlightenment model, people are seen as responsible for problems, but as unable or unwilling to provide solutions. They are seen as needing discipline. Helping means earning their trust and giving them guidance.

The Theory of Reasoned Action

The theory of reasoned action states that major predictors of behavior include attitudes toward the behavior, subjective social norms, and perceived behavioral control. A person's attitude toward a behavior is a function of the desirability of the possible outcomes with the likelihood of those outcomes. Subjective social norms reflect one's perception of whether significant others approve of the behavior and the motivation to conform to those expectations. Perceived behavioral control indicates the degree to which one feels that they have control over their behavioral outcomes in a specific situation.

The Justification of Effort

Cognitive dissonance theorists have predicted that working hard to attain a goal makes it more attractive than the same goal obtained with no effort. Let's think about this concept with regard to fraternity hazing rituals.

During the traditional "Hell Week," pledges are run through a variety of activities designed to test their limits of physical exertion, psychological strain, and social embarrassment. Too often, of course, the results are tragic. From the outside, these hazing rituals seem cruel and the people who participate in them seem to lack personal control. However, when we analyze the behavior in terms of justification of effort, the participant thinks that if the process was really difficult, then the outcome must be really worthwhile.