Lecture+20+Altruism+I

Altruism I - In-depth Notes

Prosocial Behaviour

  • Definition of Prosocial Behaviour:

    • Behaviour that benefits another person, which includes:

      • Helping

      • Giving

      • Sharing

      • Cooperating

    • Note: All altruistic behavior is prosocial, but not all prosocial behavior is altruistic.

Why Do We Help?

  1. Evolutionary Theory

    • Survival of the Fittest: Refers to the idea of the "Selfish Gene."

    • Kin Selection: Helping relatives increases the chance of survival of shared genes.

    • Reciprocity: Helping strangers can improve one’s survival chances in the long run.

  2. Social Exchange Theory

    • Involves a minimax strategy of weighing costs and rewards

    • Individuals help when they can minimize costs and maximize benefits.

    • Implications: Suggests that true altruism may not actually exist.

    • Benefits of Helping:

      • Increases feelings of well-being

      • Avoids social disapproval or punishment

      • Possible future reciprocation

    • Costs of Helping:

      • Physical danger, time consumption, embarrassment, pain.

  3. Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis

    • Proposed by Daniel Batson (1991): When we feel empathy for someone, we are more likely to help regardless of the potential gain for ourselves.

    • Help motivated by empathy tends to be more enduring compared to help given for other reasons, such as receiving rewards.

    • Empathy Joy Explanation:

      • Feeling empathy creates a joyful response when helping others.

      • Studies demonstrate increased volunteering when empathy is present.

The Bystander Effect

  • Definition:

    • The tendency for individuals to be less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present.

    • Increases with the number of bystanders, especially with minor emergencies.

  • Causes of Inaction:

    • Diffusion of Responsibility: The presence of others reduces individual responsibility.

    • Pluralistic Ignorance: Individuals look to others to define proper behavior, misinterpreting inaction as a lack of need for help.

  • Kitty Genovese Case (1964):

    • Illustrates the bystander effect where 38 witnesses failed to help despite the prolonged attack.

  • Bystander Studies (Darley & Latané, 1968):

    • Experiments showed people were more likely to report emergencies when alone vs. in groups.

Steps to Helping

  1. Attention: Notice the event as an emergency.

  2. Interpret: Assess the situation and recognize the need for help.

  3. Take Responsibility: Decide to act rather than relying on others.

  4. Give Assistance: Intervene and offer help.

Barriers to Helping

  • Situational dangers (harm to self), social norms, not knowing how to help, assumption that someone else will take action.

Self-Control and Human Nature


  • Self-Control as a Measure of Altruism vs. Egoism:-Self-control can reveal base nature: propensity toward selfish or altruistic acts.

  • Are we fundamentally selfish?

    • Research suggests self-control is often needed to curb selfish impulses.

  • Are we inherently prosocial?

    • Evidence indicates humans might also need to restrain excessive altruism for personal achievement.

  • Money's Role in Altruistic Behaviour:

    • Associated with feelings of independence leading to decreased willingness to help others.

The Influence of Environment and Personality

  • Interaction of personal attributes (e.g., agreeableness) with social cues determines altruistic or selfish behavior.

  • Example Studies:

    • Investigated how pressure and time impact decision-making, showing that faster decisions often led to more altruistic behavior.

  • Factors like social class can influence prosocial tendencies, with richer individuals often demonstrating reduced altruism.

Compassionate Action and Well-being

  • Compassionate actions can fulfill basic psychological needs (relatedness, autonomy), while pursuit of wealth can hinder overall well-being.


  • Impact of Spending on Others:Studies indicate that prosocial spending can enhance happiness better than spending on oneself.