PSYC 2014 Lecture Notes - Lecture 9: Prosocial Behavior, Reciprocal Altruism, Social Learning Theory
Document Summary
Helping- voluntary actions that benefit another individual or group of individuals. Prosocial behavior vs. altruism: prosocial behavior- the act of helping others; any act performed with the goal of benefiting another person. First coined as an antonym for antisocial behavior. Not always selfless: requires an actual action/activity, altruism- the desire to help another person without gaining anything in return, even if it involved a cost to the helper. Motivation to help with no benefit to oneself. Why do we help: darwin proposed that natural selection favors genes that promote survival and increase the probability of producing offspring. However, how can evolutionary theory explain prosocial behavior: 4 factors to explain prosocial behavior, 1) kin selection- behaviors that help a genetic relative are helped by natural selection. As people mature, reinforcements become less necessary; and the value of helping becomes internalized. Lecture 9- prosocial behavior: social exchange theory- based on self-interest.
