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