BIKERS CLUB NOVEMBER 2019 ISSUE | Page 34

ISSUE 11 | NOVEMBER 2019 BIKERS CLUB | MAGAZINE | PAGE 34 "Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness" - Martin Luther King Jr. Neurological Reasons Environmental Reasons Altruism activates reward centers in the brain. Neurobiologists have found that when engaged in an altruistic act, the pleasure centers of the brain become active. A Stanford study suggested that interactions and relationships with others have a major influence on altruistic behaviour. Psychologists have long debated whether some people are just born with a natural tendency to help others while others are not, a theory that suggests that altruism may be largely controlled by genetics. It is found that engaging in compassionate actions activates the areas of the brain associated with the reward system including the dopaminergic ventral tegmental area and the ventral striatum. The positive feelings created by compassionate actions then reinforce altruistic behaviours. Finding that socializtion had a serous impact on altruistic actions in one-and two-year-old children. Kids who observe simple reciprocal acts of altruism are far more likely to exhibit altruistic actions, whereas friendly but non-altruistic modeled actions did not. Research suggests that modeling - faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase