---
title: "Negative State Relief Model | Social Psychology"
description: "Negative State Relief Model in Social Psychology explains helping as a way to reduce guilt, sadness, or other bad feelings after distress."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/social-psychology/key-terms/negative-state-relief-model"
type: "key-term"
subject: "Social Psychology"
unit: "Unit 11"
---

# Negative State Relief Model | Social Psychology

## Definition

The negative state relief model says people help others partly to make themselves feel better after guilt, sadness, or other negative emotions. In Social Psychology, it explains prosocial behavior as sometimes self-soothing, not purely selfless.

## What It Is

The negative state relief model is a Social Psychology theory that explains helping behavior as a way to reduce your own uncomfortable feelings. If you feel guilty, sad, ashamed, or upset, helping someone else can function like emotional relief, because the act of helping shifts your mood and eases that negative state.

This model looks at prosocial behavior from a self-focused angle. Instead of assuming people help only because they care about others, it says the helper may also be trying to fix their own emotional discomfort. That does not mean the help is fake or meaningless. It means the behavior can have two layers at once, concern for another person and relief for yourself.

A simple example is when someone feels bad after snapping at a friend or getting a poor result on a test. Later, they volunteer, comfort a classmate, or do something generous, and that helping makes them feel less guilty or more hopeful. In the model, the reward is not money or praise, it is the emotional shift from distress to relief.

This theory fits especially well with situations where negative mood comes first and helping comes after. Research in this area often compares people in neutral, positive, and negative emotional states and looks at whether they are more likely to offer help. The pattern that people in bad moods may help more can be explained by the idea that helping is one way to escape that bad mood.

The model is often discussed alongside empathy-based explanations of altruism, because both can describe the same behavior for different reasons. Someone might help because they truly care about the other person, because they want to reduce guilt, or because both motives are active at the same time. Social Psychology likes this kind of explanation because real behavior is usually mixed, not one-note.

## Why It Matters

The negative state relief model matters because it gives you a way to explain why people help after feeling bad, even when the help looks generous on the surface. In Social Psychology, that makes it a useful lens for questions about altruism, guilt, mood, and everyday prosocial behavior.

It also gives you a sharper way to compare theories. If a scenario shows someone donating after doing something selfish, this model points you toward guilt reduction. If the scenario shows someone helping while clearly upset or distressed, the model suggests that relief from negative emotion may be part of the motive.

That matters in class discussions and written responses because it keeps you from assuming every helpful act is purely selfless. A student who understands this model can explain why a person might help a stranger after a bad day, or why apologizing, volunteering, or comforting someone can change the helper’s own mood.

The term also connects to the bigger Social Psychology theme that behavior is shaped by internal states and social situations at the same time. You are not just labeling kindness, you are tracing the emotional mechanism behind it. That makes your explanation stronger and more precise.

## Connections

### Guilt

Guilt is one of the main negative emotions this model uses to explain helping. When someone feels guilty about a mistake or harmful action, helping can reduce that uncomfortable feeling. In a scenario question, guilt often shows up right before the prosocial act, which is a clue that the person may be helping for relief as well as concern.

### Empathy

Empathy can also lead to helping, but it works differently. Empathy focuses on feeling with someone else, while the negative state relief model focuses on easing your own bad mood. A person may experience both at once, which is why the same helping behavior can be explained by more than one theory depending on the prompt.

### [empathy-altruism hypothesis](/social-psychology/key-terms/empathy-altruism-hypothesis)

The empathy-altruism hypothesis argues that empathy can produce genuinely other-oriented helping, even when no personal reward is expected. The negative state relief model gives a more self-focused explanation. Comparing these two is a common Social Psychology move, especially when a question asks whether behavior is truly altruistic or partly motivated by self-relief.

### [Daniel Batson](/social-psychology/key-terms/daniel-batson)

Daniel Batson is closely tied to research on helping, empathy, and altruism. His work is often used when discussing whether people help out of concern for others or for personal emotional relief. When you see Batson in a prosocial behavior unit, think about how his research helps test explanations like the negative state relief model.

## On the AP Exam

A short-answer question or case analysis may describe someone who feels guilty, ashamed, or sad and then starts helping others. Your job is to identify the negative state relief model and explain the sequence: negative emotion first, helping second, emotional relief as the payoff. If the prompt asks you to compare theories, separate this model from empathy-based explanations by showing that the helper may be motivated by self-soothing rather than only concern for the other person.

In a passage analysis, look for clues like apology, regret, embarrassment, or a mood shift after helping. In an essay or discussion response, you can use it to explain why a person volunteers after a personal setback or donates after feeling bad about their behavior. The strongest answers connect the emotion to the behavior and then to the relief that follows.

## Negative State Relief Model vs empathy-altruism hypothesis

These are easy to mix up because both can explain helping. The empathy-altruism hypothesis says empathy can create genuine concern for another person, while the negative state relief model says helping may happen because you want to feel better yourself after a bad mood. If the prompt emphasizes guilt, sadness, or emotional relief, the negative state relief model is the better fit.

## Key Takeaways

- The negative state relief model explains helping as a way to reduce your own guilt, sadness, or other uncomfortable feelings.
- In Social Psychology, this theory shows that prosocial behavior can be partly self-interested without being fake or pointless.
- A common pattern is negative emotion first and helping second, with relief or mood improvement after the act of helping.
- This model is useful when a scenario involves apologizing, volunteering, donating, or comforting someone after feeling bad.
- It works well alongside other theories because the same helpful act can have both selfish and other-focused motives.

## FAQs

### What is the negative state relief model in Social Psychology?

It is a theory that says people may help others to get rid of bad feelings like guilt, sadness, or shame. The helping behavior works like emotional relief, so the person feels better after doing something prosocial. It explains helping as sometimes motivated by self-soothing, not only by concern for others.

### How does the negative state relief model explain altruism?

It suggests that what looks like altruism may sometimes be driven by the helper’s need to reduce emotional discomfort. For example, if someone feels guilty after hurting a friend and then helps someone else, the helping can ease that guilt. The model does not say all helping is selfish, just that self-relief can be part of the motive.

### What is an example of the negative state relief model?

Imagine a student who feels awful after forgetting a group project deadline, then spends time tutoring a classmate later that day. The tutoring may make them feel less guilty and more useful. That pattern fits the model because the helping follows a negative mood and seems to reduce it.

### How is the negative state relief model different from the empathy-altruism hypothesis?

The empathy-altruism hypothesis says empathy can lead to helping because you genuinely care about another person’s welfare. The negative state relief model says helping may happen because you want to improve your own emotional state. In a class question, guilt or sadness points more toward negative state relief, while deep concern for the other person points more toward empathy.

## Related Study Guides

- [11.2 Theories of Altruism and Prosocial Behavior](/social-psychology/unit-11/theories-altruism-prosocial-behavior/study-guide/ik2GriR26cck1Hih)

## About This Document

Canonical Fiveable pages are available as Markdown at the same path plus `.md`.

- [llms.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms.txt): index of Fiveable's sections and URL patterns
- [llms-full.txt](https://fiveable.me/llms-full.txt): complete subject and unit listing
- [MCP server](https://fiveable.me/mcp): call Fiveable as tools instead of fetching pages (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp`)
- [MCP server for AP teachers](https://fiveable.me/mcp/teachers): a teacher's classes, assignments and AP-rubric grading (`https://fiveable.me/api/mcp/teacher`)

## Structured Data

```json
{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"LearningResource","@id":"https://fiveable.me/social-psychology/key-terms/negative-state-relief-model#resource","name":"Negative State Relief Model | Social Psychology","url":"https://fiveable.me/social-psychology/key-terms/negative-state-relief-model","learningResourceType":"Concept explainer","educationalLevel":"AP® / High School","about":{"@id":"https://fiveable.me/social-psychology/key-terms/negative-state-relief-model#term"},"audience":{"@type":"EducationalAudience","educationalRole":"student"},"dateModified":"2026-07-03T02:23:57.037Z","isPartOf":{"@type":"Collection","name":"Social Psychology Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/social-psychology/key-terms"},"author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://fiveable.me/editorial#content-team","name":"Fiveable Content Team","url":"https://fiveable.me/editorial","parentOrganization":{"@id":"https://fiveable.me/#organization"},"member":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Amanda DoAmaral","sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/adoamaral"]},{"@type":"Person","name":"Becky Bahr","sameAs":["https://www.linkedin.com/in/becky-bahr-b52743132"]}]},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Fiveable","url":"https://fiveable.me"}},{"@type":"DefinedTerm","@id":"https://fiveable.me/social-psychology/key-terms/negative-state-relief-model#term","name":"Negative State Relief Model","description":"The negative state relief model says people help others partly to make themselves feel better after guilt, sadness, or other negative emotions. In Social Psychology, it explains prosocial behavior as sometimes self-soothing, not purely selfless.","url":"https://fiveable.me/social-psychology/key-terms/negative-state-relief-model","inDefinedTermSet":{"@type":"DefinedTermSet","name":"Social Psychology Key Terms","url":"https://fiveable.me/social-psychology/key-terms"}},{"@type":"FAQPage","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the negative state relief model in Social Psychology?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It is a theory that says people may help others to get rid of bad feelings like guilt, sadness, or shame. The helping behavior works like emotional relief, so the person feels better after doing something prosocial. It explains helping as sometimes motivated by self-soothing, not only by concern for others."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How does the negative state relief model explain altruism?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"It suggests that what looks like altruism may sometimes be driven by the helper’s need to reduce emotional discomfort. For example, if someone feels guilty after hurting a friend and then helps someone else, the helping can ease that guilt. The model does not say all helping is selfish, just that self-relief can be part of the motive."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"What is an example of the negative state relief model?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Imagine a student who feels awful after forgetting a group project deadline, then spends time tutoring a classmate later that day. The tutoring may make them feel less guilty and more useful. That pattern fits the model because the helping follows a negative mood and seems to reduce it."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"How is the negative state relief model different from the empathy-altruism hypothesis?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The empathy-altruism hypothesis says empathy can lead to helping because you genuinely care about another person’s welfare. The negative state relief model says helping may happen because you want to improve your own emotional state. In a class question, guilt or sadness points more toward negative state relief, while deep concern for the other person points more toward empathy."}}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Social Psychology","item":"https://fiveable.me/social-psychology"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Key Terms","item":"https://fiveable.me/social-psychology/key-terms"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Unit 11","item":"https://fiveable.me/social-psychology/unit-11"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Negative State Relief Model"}]}]}
```