Altruistic emotions and prosocial behaviours are linked with greater well-being, health and longevity (Stephen, 2005). In this context altruism is defined as self-less giving without thinking about what you get in return and pro-social behaviours are acts that positively impact others well-being. Indeed, previous studies show a strong correlation between the well-being, happiness, health and longevity of people who are emotionally and behaviourally compassionate (Stephen, 2005). This essay argues that altruism and prosocial behaviours have many positive impacts on the giver as long as the giver is not forced to engage in the helping task. Firstly studies which examine prosocial behaviours and the impact they have on the giver will be discussed …show more content…
Prosocial behaviours have historically been linked to the enhancing the well-being of givers and receivers. Indeed Aristotle claimed that true happiness is achieved by loving others (Ryan and Deci, 2001). Weinstein and Ryan (2010) aimed to find out if the benefits of prosocial behaviours were mediated by the motivation of participants. They conducted four studies including a daily diary of altruistic behaviour, an experimental dictator game, a group task and voluntary helping task. There were 138 participants, who were all university students between the ages of 18 and 28. The studies conclude that it is not the act of helping that result in enhanced well-being and self-esteem, but rather the motivation behind the prosocial behaviour. Autonomous motivations for giving had a greater impact on the giver than controlled motivations. These results support the argument that prosocial behaviours have a positive impact on the giver, by illustrating the importance of uncontrolled motivations for behaviour rather than controlled motivations. Research conducted by Finkelstein, Penner and Brannick (2005) …show more content…
Undeniably Sorokin (1953/2002) asserted that altruism and self-less giving are essential for physical, mental health and that “altruistic persons live longer than egoistic individuals.” Schwartz, C., Meisenhelder, J., Ma, Y., &Reed. (2003) investigated if altruistic social interest behaviours by helping others were linked with better physical and mental health in a laminated random sample of 2016 members of the Presbyterian Church throughout the United States. Different methods was used in this investigation , giving and receiving help were evaluated through mailed questionnaire, religious activities such as positive and negative religious coping and self-reported physical and mental health. Multivariate regression analysis indicated that there is no link between giving or receiving help and physical functioning. Results showed that giving help was better for mental health than receiving help, and feeling overwhelmed by controlled prosocial behaviour acts was an independent predictor of worse mental health in the adjusted model. The study concluded that helping others is linked with positive mental health for the giver hence altruistic acts have mental health benefits because the very nature of focusing outside the self-counters the self-focused nature of anxiety or depression. Therefore, altruistic behaviours do
Evolutionary models often focus on the grueling reality of natural selection and competition for resources. However, the truth of the matter is that humans would not have survived and continued to evolve without the collective efforts of a group. In 1957, Ayn Rand published a novel called Atlas Shrugged. In it, she theorizes that “every man–is an end in himself, he exists for his own sake, and the achievement of his own happiness is his highest moral purpose.” She even states that “altruistic morality” is a disease. However, altruism has been proven to be a crucial part of human nature. This is not only limited to our evolutionary past as recent studies show that, even from a young age, we tend to display altruistic behaviour when we see others in need of help. The local and global response to the aftermath of a natural disaster is an example of this. Resources are shared and some people willingly risk their lives to aid distressed civilians. I think this is because humans are social creatures. We have an innate desire to be closer to others since we thrive the most when we have social support. During periods of isolation, humans are often overcome with stress and depression. Therefore, since we depend on our community at length, it does not make sense for selfishness to be one’s “highest moral purpose.” It is counterintuitive to seek our own happiness if it means
Prosocial Behavior is exhibited through actions that are directed towards the promotion of another’s well-being. Examples of these behaviors are helping, comforting, sharing, and cooperation. The term was coined in the 1970s and introduced as an antonym for “antisocial behavior.” Extensive study on prosocial behavior was conducted after an incident involving a young girl named Kitty Genovese, wherein she was murdered on her way home from work; she cried for help and although many heard her, none came to her aid until it was far too late (Cherry, 2005). This study aims to determine the students of De La Salle University who display and possess prosocial behavior as well as the reasons as to why they behave prosocially. The researchers conducted
Prosociality can be defined as a wide umbrella of behaviors and attitudes that are generally positive towards other people. Prosociality fits into the “Big Five” set of traits under agreeableness. This is still a broad term, but it is broken up into two major categories, which are politeness and compassion. Politeness is more like the tendency to respect people, conform to social norms, and ignore aggressive impulses. However, generosity tends to fit under compassion better. Compassion is the tendency to have concern for others and the urge to help them. A series of games were created in order to point out the differences in generosity and reciprocity. A major outcome that was found in this study is that humans care for the needs of others and have the want to help them. A study was created to find new social preferences, find differences in these preferences, and address limitations. The results show that social preferences for someone who is tolerant and forgiving, therefore portraying
Even forms of human beings preforming selfless acts derives from ones desire to help others, which in a way makes that person feel importance. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, better known as Mother Teresa, devoted her life to helping those in great need. To many these acts may appear as selfless and gallant acts that are not performed by anyone with any type of ego. Yet when taking a psychological look at why she performed such acts they may appear a somewhat more for herself. Every time anyone does anything, even when for someone else, they are doing it for some type of feeling that they experience. With the holiday season approaching, there will be a specific emphasis on giving unlike any other time of the year. We give yes to show gratitude for someone we love, but also to experience the joy in seeing someone enjoy something they them self-caused. Even while being selfless humans have the unique ability to still be doing something that involves caring for them self. This outlook toward the human condition completely debunks Wolf’s claim that “when caring about yourself you are living as if you are the center of the universe.” When choosing to do anything positive or negative, for others or for yourself, you are still taking your self-interest into consideration, making it
Altruism is selfless acts like someone willingly sacrificing their life for their child’s. When people show acts of altruism it is usually because they feel empathy for the person. They have feelings that reflect on how that person is feeling in the situation. We sacrifice ourselves for strangers in need to help reduce our personal distress of seeing them in need. Another reason is experiencing the feelings of the person in need. If a person sees someone having car trouble they will want to help because they remember having car trouble with no one around to help. They are sacrificing their wellbeing by pulling over to help, they could be putting themselves in a bad situation if the person is a criminal.
Post, S.G. (2005). Altruism, happiness, and health: it’s good to be good. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 12(2). 66-77. Retrieved from http://link.springer.com/article/10.1207/s15327558ijbm1202_4
People perpetrate seemingly selfless acts almost daily. You see it all over the news; the man who saved that woman from a burning building, the mother who sacrificed herself to protect her children from the bomb blast. But how benevolent are these actions? Are these so-called “heroes” really sacrificing themselves to help others? Until recently, it was the common belief that altruism, or selfless and unconditional kindness, was limited primarily to the human race. However, within the last century, the works of several scientists, most prominently George Price, have provided substantial evidence concluding that altruism is nothing more than a survival technique, one that can be calculated with a simple equation.
Humanity fantasizes the act of kindness through the hope of a ripple effect that will create a domino of kind acts. “The Grateful Foxes” actualizes this effect as a part of life. The man who rescues the fox because of his moral obligation is rewarded his son’s life (Freeman-Mitford). The lesson of the story is to pursue the obligation of human good—it explains that a kind act is the means for having kindness in one’s life. “However, good deeds can be engaged in for either altruistic or egoistic motivations” (Kulow 560) and this raises the argument whether pursuing this obligation is true. In a study done by Katina Kulow called “In Pursuit of Good Karma: When Charitable Appeals to Do Right Go wrong” the pursuit of good karma is brought into question. The studies did conclusively argue the link between the belief in karma and one acting for future rewards (Kulow 560). The choice to act to be rewarded is deemed as egotistical—the choice to act kind for the benefit of one’s self is a fault of one’s character. Contrasting, the thesis of the study is the reasoning behind the man’s kind act in “The Grateful
Cultures that favor generous, supportive and cooperative behavior promote these responses by reinforcing prosocial behavior. People who are cooperative are also more likely to come to the aid of people in distress. Several of the factors that promote cooperation such as personally adjustment, cognitive level, imitation, and cultural background also affect generosity and helpfulness.
Thomas, George and C. Daniel Batson. “Effect of Helping Under Normative Pressure on Self-Perceived Altruism.” Social Psychology Quarterly 44.2 (1981): 127-131. Web. 5 Feb. 2012
For someone who believes in psychological egoism, i t is difficult to find an action that would be acknowledged as purely altruistic. In practice, altruism, is the performance of duties to others with no view to any sort of personal...
The Oxford Dictionary of Psychology (Coleman, 2009) states that pro-social behaviour, or altruism, are those behaviours that are directed towards uplifting or positively influencing society. In other words, pro-social behaviour or altruism can be defined as those behaviours that are directly aimed at helping an individual or a group in some way or another.
...esult, the more directly one sees their personal efforts impact someone else, the more happiness one can gain from the experience of giving. Sometimes generosity requires pushing past a feeling of reluctance because people all instinctively want to keep good things for themselves, but once one is over this feeling, they will feel satisfaction in knowing that they have made a difference in someone else’s life. However, if one lives without generosity but is not selfish, they can still have pleasure from other virtues.
A perfect society would consist of an atmosphere where random acts of kindness were a normal part of everyone’s daily life. Not only does one experience a sensation of relief and joy whenever performing an act of kindness, the deed also affects the person whom the kindness was directed towards. A random act of kindness is a widely known subject. However, the effects of the action are not as well known. In today’s society, between all of the cars, cellphones, money, jobs, new technology etc. it becomes easier to be wrapped up or conceited with one’s self, forgetting about others. A random act of kindness can bring a person out of this conceited stage. A random act of kindness is doing a selfless act, big or small, without expecting anything in return (Random Acts of Kindness). There are a plethora of affects that come along with doing this specific task. For example, by carrying out a random act of kindness, it affects the presenter along with the receiver psychologically as well as physically.
The norm of reciprocity can cause us to behave in both negative and positive ways towards our neighbours. Entirely altruistic behaviour is rare and egoistic motivations often underlie actions which cause the betterment of others lives. Just as a chimpanzee will groom another's body with the expectation of receiving the same service in return, so do we help others in the hope of being rewarded in some fashion, be it recognition, the avoidance of guilt or the long term well being of the group t...