Altruism... The Best of Pro-social Behavior

Pro-social behavior is an important part of collective efficacy and is also a very notable issue among social psychologists. With one of my emphases being psychology I find the every day random acts of kindness and the idea of altruism very interesting. There are many examples of altruism of which we all participate in daily such as holding open a door for a mother pushing a stroller, returning the twenty dollar bill dropped by the person ahead of you in the grocery store line, or perhaps rushing out to help the child who fell from her bicycle. These and many others are simple examples of how we demonstrate pro-social behavior. What psychology tries to determine is why we do it; why do we demonstrate pro-social altruistic behavior? The definition of altruism is unselfishly doing for others without obligation or coercion from outside sources. It is doing for others simply as a desire to help another. One of the ideas studied in psychology is the reward for altruistic behavior. Even though altruism involves action without obligation or reward, there is a reward for this type of pro-social behavior. So if we think we perform acts of altruism without the expectation of a reward; psychologists say there is often a subtle reward that drives the behavior. Research in the area of neurology shows that when engaged in an altruistic action that pleasure centers in the brain become active and thus reward the individual with good feelings. Cognitive psychologists have found that often people help others to relieve their own pain or to maintain the view of the self as being a kind and empathetic person (Cherry, 2013). In a 2012 article by Kate Douglas many question regarding the evolution and psychology of altruism were asked. The one that is of particular interest is why does it feel good to be nice. From an evolutionary standpoint it is in the best interest of the family (related) group to perform acts of altruism, this gives the group a better chance of survival and passing on their genes through reproduction. In other words, unselfishly saving the life of your mate, your sibling, or cousin; give a better chance of survival and passing on your family genes. So here again there is a reward for altruism in that the survival of the family genes are the reward. From a psychology and neuroscience position there is evidence suggesting that acts of altruism are rewarded by the pleasure centers of the brain. Hormones such as oxytocin and progesterone are ones related to feeling good (Brown, 2009).

Sampson points out in chapter nine the parallel between collective efficacy and altruism through the lost letter study. What I am proposing is that altruism is perpetuated along with collective efficacy because it makes people feel good to do and to continue to perform altruistic acts for others. The point is that from a perspective of psychology people like to feel good, and in areas where collective efficacy is high I believe this has a great deal to do with both self efficacy and the feel good euphoric results of altruistic acts. When a person selflessly does something for another person they feel better about themselves. I also found it interesting that Sampson mentions the evolutionary idea that altruism is favored in natural selection as it benefits the group (Sampson, p. 230). I believe there is sufficient evidence to show that altruism and collective efficacy are related and that from a psychology standpoint acts of altruism are an important part of the individual make up.

References:

Cherry, K. (2013, 09 29). About. Retrieved from Psychology about.com:                 http://psychology.about.com/od/aindex/g/what-is-altruism.htm

Douglas, K. (2012). Homo virtuous?. New Scientist, 216(2890), 42-45.

Stephanie Brown, B. F. (2009, June 04). Science + Religion Today. Retrieved from bonding            sciencereligiontoday.com: http://www.scienceandreligiontoday.com/2009/06/04/hormone-           linked-to--altruism/