Psychology 2070A/B Chapter Notes - Chapter 10: Social Exchange Theory, Western People, Norm (Social)

• School: Western University
• Department: Psychology
• Course: Psychology 2070A/B
• Professor: Sarah Stanton

Document Summary

Prosocial behaviour - the act performed with the goal of benefiting another person. This chapter focuses on prosocial behaviour motivated by altruism: the desire to help another person/ group even if it involves cost to the helper. Evolutionary psychology suggests that natural selection favors genes that promote survival but this fails to account for altruism, it should have disappeared because people with altruism were at more risk therefore more deaths there decreased offspring. Genes promoting selfish behaviour should be more likely to pass on. Evolutionary psychologists attempt to resolve this dilemma with the notion of kin selection natural selection should favor altruistic acts directed towards genetic relatives because their relatives have some of their genes and keeping them safe. Study in b. c. confirmed these results, the closer the relation the more likely there was estate allocations. They propose the kin selection has ingrained in human behaviour, we don"t consciously realize our desire to keep our genes going.