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Psychological and Biological Perspectives on Altruism

dc.contributor.authorHoffman, Martinen_US
dc.date.accessioned2010-04-13T18:49:30Z
dc.date.available2010-04-13T18:49:30Z
dc.date.issued1978en_US
dc.identifier.citationHoffman, Martin (1978). "Psychological and Biological Perspectives on Altruism." International Journal of Behavioral Development 1(4): 323-339. <http://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/66763>en_US
dc.identifier.issn0165-0254en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2027.42/66763
dc.description.abstractThis paper presents the case for viewing altruism as an inherent part of human nature. The argument is first made that 'inclusive fitness', the key concept in modern evolutionary biology, dictates that (a) humans are programmed not only to be egoistic but also, under certain conditions, to help another at cost to themselves; and (b) what was selected was not altruistic action but mediators of action, because this provided the necessary flexibility. Psychological evidence is then presented that complements this view. Thus (a) there appears to a general human tendency to help others in distress, which has properties analagous to egoistic motivation and yet comes into play independently of egoistic motivation; and (b) the evolutionary requirements for a mediating mechanism appear to be met by empathy, e.g., it is reliably aroused in humans in response to misfortune in others, it predisposes the individual toward helping action and yet is amenable to perceptual and cognitive control, and its physiological basis may have been present in early humans. The social implications of a biological basis for human altruism are discussed.en_US
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dc.format.extent1697975 bytes
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dc.publisherSage Publicationsen_US
dc.titlePsychological and Biological Perspectives on Altruismen_US
dc.typeArticleen_US
dc.subject.hlbsecondlevelPsychologyen_US
dc.subject.hlbtoplevelSocial Sciencesen_US
dc.description.peerreviewedPeer Revieweden_US
dc.contributor.affiliationumDept. of Psychology, University of Michiganen_US
dc.description.bitstreamurlhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66763/2/10.1177_016502547800100403.pdf
dc.identifier.doi10.1177/016502547800100403en_US
dc.identifier.sourceInternational Journal of Behavioral Developmenten_US
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dc.owningcollnameInterdisciplinary and Peer-Reviewed


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