PSYCO241 Lecture Notes - Lecture 92: The Selfish Gene, Prosocial Behavior, Social Desirability Bias

• School: University of Alberta
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYCO241
• Professor: Nash, Kyle

Document Summary

Altruism: desire to help another, to improve their welfare, regardless of whether we derive any benefit. Helping another without conscious regard for one"s self- interest: all altruistic behavior is prosocial behavior, but not all prosocial behavior is altruistic behavior. Evolutionary theory: survival of the fittest - the selfish gene , helping has survival advantages, kin selection help your kin = help your genes. Evolutionary theory: the selfish gene , helping has survival advantages, kin selection help your kin = help your genes, reciprocity help strangers = help your survival chances. Reciprocal helping: reciprocity patterns can provide adaptive advantages to individuals and groups (norms of reciprocity), reciprocal helping can be found in many species, requires rlpfc, knoch et al. , 2009. Norm of reciprocity: explanation for why we give help: if i help you today, you might be more likely to help me tomorrow. Social exchange theory: minimax strategy, unconscious weighing of costs and rewards, suggests that true altruism does not exist.