Theoretical foundations of HUMAN RELATIONS Part B: Helping behavior

Running head: THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN RELATIONS
THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN RELATIONS
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

1
THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN RELATIONS
Part A:
Helping behavior can be described as the act of providing aid or benefit to another
individual. Researchers are of the opinion that helping behavior can be referred to the voluntary
actions that are intended to helping other people “with reward regarded or disregarded” (Lefevor
et al., 2017). Some of the key concepts that are intricately associated with the helping behavior
are altruism as well as the pro-social behavior. Decety et al. (2016) had described altruism as the
behavior where one person helps another person with no expectation of receiving any rewards
and is considered to be a motivation acting behind pro-social behavior.. Pro-social behavior can
be described as the behavior that helps others regardless of any motive of the helper.
Over the years, different studies have been conducted to find out various reasons why
human beings help others. Two of the basic norms that had been found to be intricately
associated with the concept of helping behaviors are the norm of reciprocity and the norm of
social responsibility. Norm of reciprocity can be described as the social rule where individuals
are obligated for helping those who help them (Dovidio et al., 2017). Another one is the norm of
social responsibility, which refers to the social rule where individuals are seen to help those who
depend on them. The responsibility of teachers, parents and similar individuals are seen to show
such norms of behavior in the society (Milne 2015). Another study had focused their research of
helping behavior on the concept of social exchange theory. This theory mainly described the
fact that social relationships are best understood by the desire of the people in maximizing their
benefits as well as minimizing their cost (Campbell, Lee & Im, 2016).
Another important study had focused on the concept of empathy as the factor behind
helping behavior and is considered to be a sub-concept under altruism hypothesis. This theory is

2
THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN RELATIONS
mainly because when individuals develop empathy for a person, they will attempt to help the
needy person regardless of what they have to gain. Another important study had found the
concept of similarity to be the driving factor that makes one individual help another person. This
concept of similarity states that people are more likely to help those people who are similar to
them rather than those who are dissimilar (Lancaster & Stead, 2017). The other study had
focused on the concept of helping behavior that helps in reducing the guilt feeling. The
participants in the study had been seen to focus on the idea that their good deeds might help them
in “cancelling” their bad deeds and hence they tend to develop a helping behavior. Capuzzi and
Stauffer (2016) had discussed about another important concept that can also help in
understanding the rationale behind their helping behavior. The researchers have found that
individuals believe their own sadness and distress and help another person with the goal of
helping self. This means that individuals are helping others with the feeling and emotion that
they are helping them themselves in the long-run (Earle, 2016). However, the concept is quite
confusing and not many studies are there that can support this concept.
Another important study had focused on the discussion that why certain people are seen
to be more helpful in comparison to that of the others. Some researchers are of the opinion that
there remain the effects of mood behind helping. Participants in the studies reveal that when
they feel good, they are seen to be “doing goods and helping others” (Felham et al., 2017). While
other researchers are seen to argue on this where they state that, their closeness to the helpee
determines their helping behavior. Here, they state that they would more likely to help those
people whom they know or those who are close to them.
From analyzing the theories put forward by different researchers, I realized that my
helping behavior is based upon some of the theories mentioned above. I had gone through very

3
THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS OF HUMAN RELATIONS
hard days in my life. I was born to parents with lesser income than required for living quality
lives. We used to live in slums in Philippines where we used to go through hard days for
arranging our meals. However, the difficulties in our lives could never restrict us from helping
people when the latter were in need. My mother had instilled good philosophies and principles
within me advising me to help people whenever they were need. The difficulties that we had
gone through had helped me in realizing the emotions of the helpee and the ways by which help
from others can make lives better. My mother taught me to put myself always in the shoes of
other people so that we can become more compassionate and help them who are in need. After
moving to South Korea after graduating college, I had encountered a friend who was brutally
abused by her husband. I helped her by letting her stay in my tiny apartment and providing her
with all forms of resources, which I could afford to help her. With my support and the self-help,
resources that I could provide her, she gradually overcome her traumatic phase and she built
herself again. Later she came with me to United States where we fell in love, married, and are
living happily. I was happy enough to help her I her crisis time. Not only that, I also realized that
I found more pleasure in helping people who are mentally and emotionally broken and I used to
feel quite happy about it. Therefore, I tried to take up the profession of counseling which would
give me high level of scope to provide services to humanity.
From the entire analysis of the helping behavior I posses, I believe that the main reason
for helping is purely empathy belonging to the altruism hypothesis. This theory mainly
considers that when individuals feel empathy for an individual, they will attempt to help him
regardless of any rewards in return (Spears et al., 2017). The difficulties I have gone through in
life had placed me in position where I genuinely feel for the sufferings of different person and
the pain they go through. My strong sense of empathy make me go through the same pain that