PSYC 308 Chapter 14: Ch. 14 Readings
Document Summary
Altruism: unselfish behaviour that benefits others without regard to consequences for oneself. Two motives are essentially selfish (egoistic); a third a more purely oriented toward unselfishly benefiting another person. First selfish motive is social reward: benefit like praise, positive attention, something tangible that may be gained by helping others, serves a motive for altruistic behaviour. This activates circuits in brain associated with rewards and personal safety. Could result in competitive altruism in -sometimes outdo one another in acts. Second selfish motive for helping is personal distress: motive for helping others in distress that may arise from a need to reduce one"s own distress. When we watch someone else"s pain, our pain regions of brain activates, lead us to act in a way to return us to more peaceful state and reduce distress of others. Third is empathic concern: feeling people experience when identifying with someone in need, understanding what they are experiencing, accompanied by intention to help others.
