PSYC 215 Chapter Notes - Chapter 9: Twin, Nechama Tec, Egotism
16 May 2012
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Chapter 9: pro-social behaviour: doing what"s best for others. Doing something that is good for other people or for society as a whole. Some textbooks claim that helping is the only pro-social behaviour, and things such as obedience, conformity and other ways of following the rules to be a bad thing. In reality, these are the quintessential pro-social behaviours, while helping is more of an extra. A society in which people respect and follow the rules is said to have an effective rule of law. Researchers have found a positive correlation between rule of law and happiness. Fairness and justice are also important factors in predicting pro-social behaviour (it makes people want to act in this way). A lot of pro-social behaviour is stimulated by others, when people are watching. One purpose of pro-social behaviour, especially when it is at a cost to the self, is to get oneself accepted into the group.
