Pro-Social Behavior and Altruism: A Psychological Perspective

Running head: PSYCHOLOGY
PSYCHOLOGY
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Author Note

“Human beings are inherently good”. Human beings are empathetic, however, often in nascent
state. It has to be remembered that empathy is a psychological process by which we feel helpful
towards other people. It is the process by which we put ourselves into the others’ shoes and try to
decipher what problems he/she might be going through, often to find them a solution, help them
or support them (Capdevila, Dixon and Briggs 2014). It takes into account both cognitive as well
as emotional parameters of an individual, irrespective of gender, however, such psychological
processes tend to be highly relative as well as reactive towards the situation of the environment.
Pro-social behavior is a kind of psychological behavior that concerns about the rights, feelings
and welfare of other people. The social scientists across the world have actively participated in
the research about the needs and causes of pro-social behavior among the human beings since
time immemorial. Even if certain scientists believe that altruism needs to be taught to human
beings, however, it is also noticed that the human beings, contradictorily, has altruistic behavior
inherent in them and their psychology. Sometimes, individuals might face danger himself/herself
in order to help the other person in any kind of distress. Scientists have deciphered the reasons
for such altruistic and pro-social behavior which traces the parenting of the individual since
his/her childhood. A child who has been given the lesson of kindness, benevolence and co-
operation might develop positive altruistic behavior during their adulthood which helps the
society directly as well as indirectly. However, it is interesting to know that evolutionary
psychologists often explain pro-social behaviors in terms of the principles of natural selection.
The very idea of selection of the kin suggests that humans have been primitively helping the
members of their own genetic family so that their genes could be passed on to the next
generation as well as the upcoming generation, which is an archaic tradition of the humans
beginning from the position of a savage caveman to the modern man with technology and
gadgets. Researchers have been able to produce some evidence that people are often more likely
to help those to whom they are closely related. The norms of reciprocity, according to