...those behaviors that involve helping another person; ulterior motives may or may not play a part. Altruism is a pro-social behavior in which helping behavior occurs with no indication of personal benefit. According to Fiske (2010), “altruism describes a motive that makes people help because of genuine concern for others, to increase the welfare of others,” (p. 347). A person acts altruistically when he or she feels empathy for another person and assumes responsibility for helping. Another concept of helping is Egotistic helping, that is the idea that the primary motivator is to decrease one’s own distress and places the decreasing another’s distress as the secondary motivator (Nier, 2009). The existence of true altruism has been a topic of longstanding debate in social psychology. Nier (2009) has provided information concerning both sides of this debate (Nier, 2009). Batson (et. Al, 1981) supports the concept of true altruism stating that individuals help others simply out of a desire to do so. This help earns the individual no reward. The opposing side is presented by Cialdini (et. Al, 1987) concludes that when individuals offer aid to others, they are doing so for a personal gain of some kind. The articles discussed by Nier, (2009) share opinions from experts on both sides of this issue and provide a foundation upon which to base one’s own decision with regard to true altruism. Brief Summary of Both Arguments The article Is Empathic Emotion a Source of Altruistic Motivation...
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...to volunteering changed in such a way that social psychologists could attribute part of that change to altruistic behaviour. Volunteering and altruism shares common connection as such some volunteering work can be seen as altruistic though not every part of altruism can be said to mean volunteering. Volunteering is just one part of the different parts of altruism. Within this understanding it is possible to say the two concepts are strongly related and connected as well. This essay will try to explore the concept of volunteering in relation to altruism and to show that the large number of people that volunteered after September 11th had their altruistic tendency invoked. Altruism from social psychologists point of view is a prosocial behaviour that has been defined as “a motive to increase the welfare or wellbeing of another person without conscious regard for one’s own self-interests (David Myers, 2010). It is a norm or an act that is highly valued and cherished by individuals and society alike. According to Wispe, (1972) as cited by (Michael A. Hogg, 2008) it is a positive attitude that contributes to the physical and psychological well-being of another person. It is a different type of helping behaviour in which the motive of “intentions and benefits” to the person rendering it matters (Dovidio, et al, 2006, p. 25). Altruism is a special way of helping, it is somewhat different from...
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...Altruism and Pro Social Behavior Social Psychology Naomi Jackson Instructor Cheryl V. Browning Upper Iowa University ALTRUISM AND PRO SOCIAL BEHAVIOR One may ask what causes people to jeopardize their own health and well-being to help other people. What is it that inspires individuals to give their time, energy, and money to aid in the betterment of others, even when they receive nothing tangible in return? Altruism involves the unselfish concern for other people. It involves doing things simply out of a desire to help, not because you feel obligated to out of duty, loyalty, or religious. I’ve noticed that everyday life is filled with small acts of altruism, from the person who greets me going into Wal-Mart to the person who gives a generous donation to the march of dimes. Although news stories often focus on a greater scale of altruism, such as a person risking their life to save a child from a burning building that they don’t even know. To giving a generous donation to a local charity. Social Psychologists are interested in understanding why it occurs. Really, what does inspire these acts of kindness? What motivates people to risk their own lives to save a complete stranger? Altruism is one aspect of what Social Psychologists refer to Pro Social behavior. Pro Social behavior refers to any action that benefits other people, no matter what the motive or how the giver benefits from the action. While all altruistic acts are Pro Social...
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...In this dissertation moral capacity is considered to be a spandrel, the byproduct of natural selection. The first chapter of this doctoral dissertation deals with conceptual issues of the biological and psychological interpretations of egoism (selfishness) and altruism, and then, in the second step, it relates altruism to morality. To be more precise, it relates altruism to moral capacity which includes moral behavior, forming and maintaining moral beliefs, and moral judgments. The main subjects of the second chapter are the evolution of altruism and cooperation and the related problem of the units of selection. I critically examine the standard models for the evolution of altruism: group selection, gene’s eye view, kin selection (with remarks...
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...based on a genuine desire to help other people or to assist in alleviating a personal anxiety. I believe altruism exists and will provide a personal example to support this belief. In addition, I will explain further altruism, how it relates to psychology, and to personal, professional, and social responsibilities, and its effect on the future of psychology. Personal Experience Summary My life as I perceive it exists busy; consequently, I reside perpetually behind schedule. However, I do make time to drop food and personal hygiene items off and visit with the managers of the local food bank the first Wednesday of every month. The individuals and families that enter the building are each gracious and grateful for the food and other products offered. I have never witnessed any person display embarrassment for the need for assistance, in fact, I had not thought about that emotion until this assignment. Each person I have encountered either dropping off or in need have resided authentically friendly and appreciative. Genuinely, I do not believe that any person possesses expectations. Consequently, I do believe true altruism exists. The Roles of Altruism Like self-control, altruism exists as a valued temporally extended behavioral system, which may exist cultured and affirmed over a person's lifespan, and does not require an inherited trait. Exclusive decrees of altruism, each of which can withhold benefits or cause harm to the actor, can reside advantageous if the act takes...
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...Critical and Creative Thinking Questions II Resource: Visualizing Psychology Read questions 1-6 located in Critical and Creative Thinking Questions in Ch. 15 of Visualizing Psychology. Answer each question in at least 75 words Critical and Creative Thinking Questions for Chapter 15 - Social Psychology 1 | Have you ever changed a strongly held attitude? What caused the change for you?I used to hate research writing in high school . I got not so desirable grades on most of them because I wasn't really sure how to do them , plus I wasn't playing attention when the steps where being explained. So in return submitted awful reports . The problem was I didn't make an outline nor was I even sure what I wanted to write about , I just wanted to write something , and a lot of time I would run out of ideas .Nevertheless , I learned to love research through the encouragements I received from several tutors and my 12th grade English teacher . By change my attitude about writing , I was able to increase my quality sources that made a previously difficult assignment into worry free tasks . | | | 2 | Do you believe that you are free of prejudice? After reading this chapter, which of the many factors that cause prejudice do you think is most important to change? No I don't believe I am free from prejudice. Prejudice is an adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts. Prejudice can come from ignorance and also fear...
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...Assignment: 70 HRPYC81 Research report for project: PYC4809 Title: What motivates people to do volunteer work? Examination period: October/November 2013 Contents What motivates people to do volunteer work? Abstract Introduction The motivation of people to volunteer has long fascinated those researching and working alongside volunteers. Understanding the motivational drives of those who volunteer has long been a recurring theme preoccupying much of literature on volunteering. According to research by Esmond and Dunlop (2004), what actually motivates a person to volunteer is a complex and vexing question, yet understanding these motivations can be of great assistance to organisation. Every year millions of people around the world give of their time and energy to make a difference through volunteering (Esmond, 2004). The types of volunteer activities engaged in by people are as varied as the volunteers themselves and their value to their communities and society as a whole remains immeasurable. Understanding the underlying motivational drives of those who volunteer has been a recurring theme preoccupying much of literature on volunteering. So what is it that motivates and moves people into action, to get up, to go and to volunteer? An examination of previous research investigating this complex issue follows. Literature review According to tutorial letter 103 for HRPYC81 (2013, p.5), “Volunteerism may be defined as contributing one’s time or...
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...Altruism is defined as the desire to help another person even if it involves a cost to the helper. The evolutionary view of altruism involves the ideas of kin selection and, the norm of reciprocity. Kin selection suggests that we are more likely to help those related to us, and the norm reciprocity proposes that we will help others if we expect them to return the help in the future. I believe these two concepts show a great unconscious motivator for altruism. The next more conscious part of altruism is the how much will it cost and reward the person who will help as discussed by the social exchange theory. And the final influence is the empathy-altruism hypothesis, which states that when we feel empathy for a person, we will help a person for purely altruistic reasons, regardless of what we have to gain. I believe these three factors to some degree or another play off each other to influence people when it comes to making an altruistic choice to help someone. Some of the other factors are an altruistic personality, influences from culture, gender roles, and religion. An altruistic personality is the qualities that cause an individual to help others, but the weight of a situation can diminish the effect of a personality type. When it comes to gender differences, males are raised to be altruistic in situations that are intense and call for heroic actions. Females are raised to be altruistic in a compassionate manner and long-term situations, like caring for elderly relatives...
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...social cognition | Attribution | attitudes | Heuristics | persuasion | Empathy | attraction | Idiosyncracy credit | prosocial behavior | Individualism | stereotype | Collectivism | prejudice | Personal identity | discrimination | Multiculturalism | social psychology | Prejudice | conformity | Normative influence | schemata | Sexism | idiosyncrasy credits | Racism | obedience to authority | Schema | altruism | Reciprocity norm | bystander effect | Self-assessment | halo effect | Self-presentation | kin selection | Social influence | reciprocity norm | Flattery | empathy-altruism hypothesis | mere exposure | altruistic personality type | propinquity effect | 1. Write 1-2 sentences of definition/explanation opposite to each concept. 2. Write the appropriate scientists' names. 1. Kurt Lewin was a famous psychologist who is largely considered to be the father of social psychology, due to the fact that his studies paved the way for future psychologists to look at the relationship between a person's thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and the society around them. 2. Solomon Asch was a famous social psychologist whose study on conformity showed that people often conform to the group, even when they know the correct answer. 3. Albert Bandura is a famous social psychologist whose Bobo doll study illustrates the social learning theory of psychology. 4. Edwin Hollander made idiosyncrasy credit theory popular in 1958. 5. Serge Moscovici believed that...
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...others: is selflessness really possible? Or is "altruism" merely doing things for others in order to feel good about ourselves? If human altruism exists, how does our neural system deal with it? The issue of altruism is complicated by the lack of agreement about many aspects of it, including its very definition. The word altruism, which comes from the Italian altrui, was coined in 1851 by August Comte to refer to benevolence (2). Although not everyone agrees today on what precisely altruism entails, the most basic definition is seeking the welfare of others (1). This definition is often extended, however, to include the necessity of some personal sacrifice on the part of the altruist; Edward O. Wilson defined altruism as "self-destructive behavior performed for the benefit of others" (1), (3). There is also an idea of reciprocal altruism, which is self-sacrificing behavior with the expectation that the favor will be returned eventually (4). If this behavior is motivated by the desire for future reward, it does not really fit the generally accepted definitions of altruism. In nonhuman animals, altruism is mainly seen in the form of one animal sacrificing or risking its life to save another. Studies of animals by researchers such as Hamilton, who worked with bees who sacrifice themselves to allow the queen to produce offspring with their genetic makeup, have led to an evolutionary explanation of altruism (4). One account of altruism in the animal kingdom is kin selection-that an...
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...Crisp (2010) defines prosocial behaviour as ay voluntary act which benefits another, although such acts can also benefit the helper. Prosocial behaviour (PB) is, like most human behaviour, influenced by a set of two factors that are, dispositional and situational. Dispositional factors are unique and internal, whereas situational factors are external to people. This essay will consider the interaction between these forces in explaining PB. Evolutionary theorists presume PB to be egotistically or selfishly motivated. They focus on principles of kin selectivity, sfafdf and reciprocal altruism in explaining such behaviour. Characteristics such as empathy have been observed in a varity of animals such as primates (De Waal, 2009). Social learning theorists argue that prosocial behaviour too is endorsed through observational learning and reinforcement. Wuzas (2011) for example has shown that the prosocial disposition of children is influenced by their parents. In contrast, cognitive theorists, such as Latane and Darly (1970) have proposed a situational model of behaviour in emergencies. According to these theorists, a person must make a series of correct decisions in order to intervene in emergencies. If any decision is not made correctly, intervention does not occur. So, in order for PB to occur, people must notice the happening, decide that it is an emergency and that help is required, decide that they are responsible, decide that they can help appropriately, and lastly, decide...
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...Frederic Halper Attachment Security, Compassion and Altruism In psychology there has always been an argument between whether certain things are learned or whether they are innate (born with). It can be many things like personalities, beliefs, emotions, desires, values etc. According to John Bowlby and his theory, when it comes to survival of the human species one of the things we do as infants is try to capture the attention of our caregiver in order to receive care and attention. Attachment security is the term we would use for describing this. This of course would be something innate, something natural that we as babies would use for protection "The propensity to make strong emotional bonds to particular individuals, a basic component of human nature". (Bowlby) Sometimes this is not always provided to an infant, and if it isn’t, it will supposedly affect the individual later in life. According to Bowlby "The operation of this system is affected by an individual’s social experiences, especially with early caregivers, resulting in measurable individual differences in attachment security". Attachment is a special emotional relationship that involves an exchange of comfort, care, and pleasure. Not only does attachment security aid in survival but it also has a huge influence on development, our behaviors and relationships later in life. In the article Attachment Security, Compassion and Altruism a series of studies were done by which it is claimed...
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...1. Have you ever changed a strongly held attitude? What caused the change for you? In our everyday lives, attitudes play a major role in affecting our behavior. The influence how we feel and behave toward others is in our environment. Attitudes have important influences on our decisions. The most commonly used approach in changing attitude is to attempt to change what people believe and what they know. Attitudes are often learned from other people and are often a defining characteristic of groups. It can also be genetic. A strong attitude is very resistant to change. To change attitude, spot and match the balance of affective/cognitive/behavioral components, especially in the person’s self-image. Where there is affective attention, offer emotional arguments. For cognitive listeners, use a rational argument. For the behaviorally focused, do something. 2. Have you ever done something in a group that you would not have done if you were alone? What happened? How did you feel? What have you learned from this chapter that might help you avoid this behavior in the future? 3. How do Milgrams results- particularly the finding that the remoteness of the victim affected obedience- relate to some aspects of modern warfare? 4. What are some of the similarities between Zimbardio's prison study and the abuses at the Abu Ghralb prison in Iraq? 5. Do you believe that you are free of prejudice? After reading this chapter, which of the many factors that cause prejudice do you think...
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...Critical and Creative Thinking II 1- Have you ever changed a strongly held attitude and what caused the change. In our everyday lives, attitudes play a major role in affecting our behavior. The influence how we feel and behave toward others is in our environment. Attitudes have important influences on our decisions. The most commonly used approach in changing attitude is to attempt to change what people believe and what they know. Attitudes are often learned from other people and are often a defining characteristic of groups. It can also be genetic. A strong attitude is very resistant to change. To change attitude, spot and match the balance of affective/cognitive/behavioral components, especially in the person’s self-image. Where there is affective attention, offer emotional arguments. For cognitive listeners, use a rational argument. For the behaviorally focused, do something. 2- Do you believe that you are free of prejudice? After reading this chapter, which of the many factors that cause prejudice do you think is most important to change? Prejudice is an adverse judgment or opinion formed beforehand or without knowledge or examination of the facts. Prejudice can come from ignorance and also fear, because individuals can be prejudice to a certain culture where they could know a little about them, and is afraid of how that certain culture is different from them in language, behavior or customs. 3- How do Milgram's results—particularly the finding that the remoteness...
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...Annual Reviews. All rights reserved First published online as a Review in Advance on September 10, 2004 PROSOCIAL BEHAVIOR: Multilevel Perspectives Louis A. Penner Karmanos Cancer Institute/Family Medicine, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan 40202, and Research Center for Group Dynamics, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109; email: pennerl@karmanos.org John F. Dovidio Psychology Department, Colgate University, Hamilton, New York 13346; email: John.Dovidio@UConn.edu Jane A. Piliavin Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Madison, Wisconsin 53706; email: jpiliavi@ssc.wisc.edu David A. Schroeder University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701; email: dave@uark.edu Key Words altruism, cooperation, helping ■ Abstract Current research on prosocial behavior covers a broad and diverse range of phenomena. We argue that this large research literature can be best organized and understood from a multilevel perspective. We identify three levels of analysis of prosocial behavior: (a) the “meso” level—the study of helper-recipient dyads in the context of a specific situation; (b) the micro level—the study of the origins of prosocial tendencies and the sources of variation in these tendencies; and (c) the macro level—the study of prosocial actions that occur within the context of groups and large organizations. We present research at each level and discuss similarities and differences across levels. Finally, we consider...
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