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prosocial behaviour

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4 detailed 50-minute lessons with teaching scripts, worked examples, parent guides, and assessment criteria.

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Lesson Overview

Total Lessons: 4
Tier: Foundation and Higher
Duration: 50 minutes per lesson (200 minutes total)
Exam Boards: AQA, Edexcel, OCR, Eduqas, CCEA

Learning Objectives

Prerequisites

Materials & Equipment

Lesson 1: Introduction: prosocial behaviour

Duration: 50 minutes

Starter Activity (5 minutes)

Quick Recall

Write down everything you already know about prosocial behaviour. Then check against the key terms: Psychology Exam Tips. Use a mini-whiteboard or paper.

Main Content (35 minutes)

Parent/Teacher Guide:
Before lesson: Read the script below. Pre-teach key vocab: Psychology Exam Tips.
If stuck: Re-read the revision notes (link above), then break the content into smaller steps.
Extension: See the Stretch & Challenge ideas in Lesson 4.
Teaching Script (35 mins):
Mins 0-5 - Hook: "Today: prosocial behaviour. By the end you will be able to answer exam questions on it unaided. It connects to the rest of Psychology because the ideas here recur across the spec."
Mins 5-20 - Direct Instruction: Work through the core ideas below one at a time; after each, ask your student to explain it back in their own words.
Mins 20-30 - Guided Practice: Model the worked example together, then let your student attempt the first practice question with guidance.
Mins 30-35 - Independent Practice: 2-3 practice questions from Lesson 3 below, with immediate feedback.
First Look

Start with the revision notes summary, then attempt: Describe the bystander effect and explain why the presence of others reduces helping behaviour.

Plenary (5 minutes)

Check Out

Your student states one thing they learned and one question they still have about prosocial behaviour.

Lesson 2: Core Concepts: prosocial behaviour

Duration: 50 minutes

Starter Activity (5 minutes)

Review Previous Lesson

Quick recap: write 3 key points from Lesson 1 on prosocial behaviour. Check them against the notes below.

Main Content (35 minutes)

Key Fact: Prosocial behaviour is any act that benefits others. Altruism is helping with no expectation of personal gain - the debate is whether true altruism exists or whether all helping is ultimately self-serving.
Key Fact: The bystander effect: people are less likely to help when others are present. Latane & Darley's (1968) smoke experiment: 75% helped when alone vs 10-38% when in a group.
Key Fact: Diffusion of responsibility: in a group, each person assumes someone else will help. This was famously linked to the murder of Kitty Genovese (1964), where 38 witnesses allegedly did nothing - though later accounts question this version.
Key Fact: The cost-reward model (Piliavin): people weigh up the costs of helping against the rewards. If costs outweigh rewards, people are less likely to help. This model suggests helping is always rational and self-interested.
Key Fact: Factors increasing prosocial behaviour: similarity to the victim, being in a good mood, having training, and being in a small group or alone.
Psychology Exam Tips: When evaluating prosocial behaviour, use real-world examples: emergency situations, online helping behaviour, and charity giving. Consider whether lab experiments accurately reflect real emergencies.

Practice (10 minutes)

Q: Describe the bystander effect and explain why the presence of others reduces helping behaviour.

Answer: The bystander effect: more bystanders = less helping. Reasons: diffusion of responsibility, pluralistic ignorance (nobody else seems concerned), and audience inhibition (fear of looking foolish). Latane & Darley's decision-making model: notice -> interpret -> take responsibility -> decide how to help -> implement help.

Plenary (5 minutes)

Explain Back

Your student teaches the key points back to you without looking. Fill any gaps immediately.

Lesson 3: Application: prosocial behaviour

Duration: 50 minutes

Starter Activity (5 minutes)

Quick Recall

Recall the key terms: Psychology Exam Tips. Define each in one sentence.

Main Content (35 minutes)

Parent/Teacher Guide: Let your student attempt each question alone first, then compare with the model answer. Award method marks for correct working even if the final answer is wrong.

Q1: Describe the bystander effect and explain why the presence of others reduces helping behaviour.

Answer: The bystander effect: more bystanders = less helping. Reasons: diffusion of responsibility, pluralistic ignorance (nobody else seems concerned), and audience inhibition (fear of looking foolish). Latane & Darley's decision-making model: notice -> interpret -> take responsibility -> decide how to help -> implement help.

Q2: Evaluate whether true altruism exists, using psychological research.

Answer: True altruism debate: Cialdini's negative state relief model argues that helping reduces our own distress - so all helping is selfish. Batson's empathy-altruism hypothesis argues that empathy motivates genuine altruism. Evidence: high-empathy people help even when they can easily escape the situation.

Q3: Explain how the cost-reward model accounts for prosocial behaviour and evaluate its limitations.

Answer: The cost-reward model explains helping as rational calculation. Strengths: supported by research. Limitations: ignores emotional responses (people often help instinctively), cannot explain impulsive heroism, assumes people always act rationally in emergencies.

Plenary (5 minutes)

Error Review

Review any questions answered incorrectly. Identify whether the error was knowledge, method, or reading the question.

Lesson 4: Exam Practice: prosocial behaviour

Duration: 50 minutes

Starter Activity (5 minutes)

Command Words

Review what these command words require: state (one point), describe (say what happens), explain (say why), compare (both sides), evaluate (judgement).

Main Content (35 minutes)

Extended Answer

Extended question: Full-Mark Response Evaluate the validity of the bystander effect as an explanation for failing to help in emergencies. <div class="

A grade 9 response will: describe the bystander effect with Latane & Darley's research; explain mechanisms (diffusion of responsibility, pluralistic ignorance, audience inhibition); evaluate using real-world evidence; consider alternative explanations; conclude: the bystander effect is well-established but real emergencies involve more complex processes than lab studies capture.

Exam Tips: More bystanders = LESS helping. This is the bystander effect. | Diffusion of responsibility: 'Someone else will do it.' Pluralistic ignorance: 'Nobody else seems worried.' | Cost-reward model: if COSTS > REWARDS, no helping. If REWARDS > COSTS, helping occurs.
Common Errors: Watch Out! Students often make mistakes here. Wrong: People don't help in emergencies because they are apathetic and don't care about others. Correct: Research shows that failing to help is usually a social-cognitive process, not apathy. Bystanders often do care but are inhibited by: pluralistic ignorance, diffusion of responsibility, and audience inhibition. Education about the bystander effect significantly increases helping rates.
Stretch & Challenge (Grade 8-9):
  • Synoptic links: explain how prosocial behaviour connects to another Psychology topic you have studied
  • Real-world: research one real-world use or example of prosocial behaviour
  • Critical: "What are the limitations of the models used in prosocial behaviour?"

Plenary (5 minutes)

Assessment Criteria
  • Got it: Confident explanation + correct worked examples
  • Getting there: Main points OK, needs support with detail
  • Not yet: Confused on key concepts - re-run Lesson 2

Homework & Consolidation

Recommended Resources

🎓 Smart Lesson (Guided)