Why We Help
Prosocial behavior is any action intended to benefit another person, whereas altruism is helping motivated by genuine concern for another's welfare, even at a cost and with no expectation of reward.
| Concept | Core Motivation | Altruistic? |
|---|---|---|
| Prosocial behavior | Any benefit to another | Maybe or No |
| Altruism | Selfless welfare of another | Yes |
Common pitfall: Treating these terms as identical. All altruism is prosocial, but helping done for reward, reciprocity, or to relieve your own discomfort is prosocial yet not strictly altruistic.
Theories of Helping
- Empathy-altruism hypothesis: Feeling genuine empathy drives helping for their sake.
- Negative-state relief model: We help to reduce our own distress at seeing suffering.
- Social-exchange theory: Helping occurs when rewards outweigh costs.
- Kin selection: Aiding relatives helps share and survive genes.
- Reciprocal altruism: Helping non-relatives as a long-run investment.