PSYC 320 Lecture Notes - Lecture 31: The Selfish Gene, Kin Selection

• School: American River College
• Department: Psychology
• Course: PSYC 320
• Professor: Mitchell

Document Summary

Evolutionary and motivational factors: why do people help? virtually everyone helps somebody sometime. This list of prosocial behaviours actions intended to benefit others is endless. Evolutionary scientists use principles of evolution to understand human social behaviour. The selfish gene evolutionary perspectives emphasize not the survival of the fittest individuals but the survival of the individuals" genes. From the perspective of evolution, human social behaviour should be analyzed in terms of its contribution to reproductive success in ancestral environments: the conception, birth, and survival of offspring over the course of many generations. If a specific social behaviour enhances reproductive success, the genetic underpinnings of that behaviour are more likely to be passed on to subsequent generations. This way, the behaviour can eventually become part of the common inheritance of the species. In order to reproduce, the individual must survive long enough to do so. Being helped by others should increase the chances of survival.