To understand why people engage or not in prosocial behaviours we should predominately look at their situational factors together with the other pre-dispositional psychological, environmental and emotional imperatives that comprise the basis of people’s core beliefs and value systems.
Attitudes to multiculturalism are influenced by situational factors that have been shown to have an effect on social behaviour, including; racial bias, prejudice, conformity, obedience, attitudes and changes to group norms. Out-group bias identified by race can influence prosocial behaviour as in-group members are more productive for their groups benefit and less helpful to the out-groups (Stepanikova, Simpson, 2011). Prosocial behaviour is behaviour intended to solely help or benefit another (Eisenberg, 2007). Research into the relationship between prosocial behaviour and socioeconomic status has also shown that lower socio economic groups have more compassion and therefore behave more prosocially when allocating resources (Piff, Kraus, 2010). Situational factors include people being more likely to help their family members. Kin selection refers to the theory that people will choose to help people first that are related to them so that their family’s biological genes will live on. Kinship can be extended to other groups that we are familiar with, community groups that we may belong to and people that we socialise with and share common values (Hippel, Hasselton, 2007). Social learning and how we have been raised, what we have been taught, what social norms have been agreed upon within our family dynamic our society, school, work, and within the society that we live in predispose our choice to act prosocially or not. If we are taught prosocial values and incorporate them in our value and belief systems then we are more likely to be a sensitive personally involved and a socially