Why We Help
Prosocial behavior is any action intended to benefit another person. Its most striking form is altruism — helping motivated by genuine concern for another's welfare, even at a cost to oneself and with no expectation of reward. Whether pure altruism truly exists, or whether all helping is ultimately self-interested, is one of social psychology's enduring debates.
Several accounts compete. The empathy–altruism hypothesis (Batson) argues that when we feel genuine empathy for a person in need, we are moved to help for their sake, not our own — a case for real altruism. Others counter with egoistic accounts: the negative-state relief model says we help to reduce our own distress at seeing suffering, and social-exchange theory frames helping as a cost–benefit calculation in which we help when the rewards (gratitude, reputation, relief) outweigh the costs.
Evolutionary theory adds two more. Kin selection explains why we help relatives: aiding those who share our genes helps those genes survive. Reciprocal altruism explains helping non-relatives: "I help you now, you help me later" pays off when the favor is likely to be returned — cooperation as a long-run investment.
Common pitfall: treating "prosocial behavior" and "altruism" as identical. All altruism is prosocial, but not all prosocial behavior is altruistic: helping done for reward, reputation, reciprocity, or to relieve one's own discomfort is prosocial yet not altruistic in the strict sense of selfless concern for another.
A decision balance beam with "reward of helping" and "cost of helping" pans; a case study loads each pan in beats (empathy and reputation onto reward; risk and time onto cost).