BIKERS CLUB NOVEMBER 2019 ISSUE | Page 35

ISSUE 11 | NOVEMBER 2019 altruistic actions can be an important way to foster prosocial and compassionate actions in children. Social Norms Society's rules, norms, and expectations can also influence whether or not people engage in altruistic behaviour. The norm of reciprocity, for example, is a social expectation in which we feel pressured to help others if they have already done something for us. For example, if your friend loaned you money for lunch a few weeks ago, you'll probably feel compelled to reciprocate when he asks you if he can borrow RS 10,000/- He did something for you, now you feel obligated to do something in return. BIKERS CLUB | MAGAZINE | PAGE 35 Cognitive Reasons While the definition of altruism involves doing for others without reward, there may still be cognitive incentives that aren't obvious. For example, we might help others to relieve our own distress or because being kind to others upholds our view of ourselves as kind, empathetic people. Other cognitive explanations include: Empathy: Researchers suggest that people are more likely to engage in altruistic behaviour when they feel empathy for the person who is in distress, a suggestion known as the empathy-altruism hypothesis. Researchers have found that children tend to become more altruistic as their sense of empathy develops. Helping relieves negative feelings: Other experts have proposed that altruistic acts help relieve the negative feelings created by observing someone else in distress, an idea referred to as the negative - state relief model. Essentially, seeing another person in trouble causes us to feel upset, distressed, or uncomfortable, so helping the person in trouble helps reduce these negative feelings. Comparing the Theories The underlying reasons behind altruism, as well as the question of whether there is truly such a thing as "pure" altruism, are two issues hotly contested by social psychologists. Do we ever engage in helping others for truly altruistic reasons, or are there hidden benefits to ourselves that guide our altruistic behaviours? Some social psychologists believe