The term altruism can also refer to an ethical doctrine which claims that individuals and groups are morally obligated to benefit others.
Altruism is contrasted with egoism, which claims individuals are morally obligated to serve themselves first. Effective altruism is the use of evidence and reason to determine the most effective way to benefit others.
Altruism can cover a wide variety of behaviors, for example donating our money or time to charity or to help someone, without trying to get recognition for it.
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Altruistic drives and behavior are an important part of the glue that binds meaningful families and social groups together, helping them to work together and thrive.
Altruism
The word “altruism” was coined by the French philosopher Auguste Comte in French, as altruism, for the antonym of egoism. He derived it from the Italian altrui , which in turn comes from the Latin alteri , meaning “other”.
Altruism is when we act to improve the social welfare of others, even at the risk or loss to ourselves. Although some believe that humans are inherently selfish, recent research shows otherwise:
Studies have found that people’s first impulse is to cooperate, not compete; that toddlers spontaneously help those in need out of genuine concern for their well-being; and even non-human primates display altruism.
Evolutionary scientists speculate that altruism has deep roots in human nature because helping and working together promotes the survival of the species. Indeed, Darwin himself argued that altruism, which he called “sympathy” or “benevolence”, was “an essential part of the social instinct”.
Darwin’s claim is supported by recent neuroscientific studies, which have shown that when people behave altruistically, their brains are active in areas that signal pleasure and reward, similar to when they eat chocolate.
This does not mean that humans are more altruistic than selfish; rather, evidence suggests that we have a deeply ingrained tendency to act in either direction. Our challenge lies in finding ways to raise up the better angels of our nature.
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Definition of Altruism
Altruism is a principle and practice of moral values that pays attention to the happiness of other humans or even animals, resulting in a quality of life, both material and spiritual.
It is a traditional virtue in many cultures and a core aspect of various religious traditions and secular worldviews, although the concept of “others” to whom attention should be directed can vary across cultures and religions.
In extreme cases, altruism can become synonymous with selflessness, which is the opposite of selfishness. Altruism can be distinguished from feelings of loyalty, while the latter is based on social relations, altruism does not consider relationships.
Much debate exists about whether “true” altruism is possible in human psychology. Psychological egoism theory suggests that no act of sharing, helping, or sacrificing can be described as truly altruistic.
That’s because the actor can receive intrinsic rewards in the form of personal satisfaction. The validity of this argument depends on whether intrinsic rewards qualify as “benefits.”
Understanding Altruism According to Experts
The definition of altruism according to experts, among others:
1. Sears et al (1994)
The definition of altruism is as a voluntary action to be able to help others selflessly by individuals or groups.
2. Santrock (1995)
The definition of altruism is as a tendency that is not selfish in providing help to others.
3. Baron and Byrne (2005)
the meaning of altruism is as a sense of caring without prioritizing oneself to be able to help others.
4. Myers (2012) , the notion of altruism can be defined as a motive for increasing the welfare of others without thinking about oneself.
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Characteristics of Altruism
Altruism is characterized by selflessness and concern for the welfare of others. Those with this quality usually put others first and genuinely care about those around them, whether they have personal ties with them or not.
There are several signs that indicate that a person has generosity or altruism, including:
1. Put others first
Examples of the attitude of prioritizing the interests of others, for example a person gives a snack to his co-worker even though he is also hungry; someone gave up his place in the cinema for a group that needed extra seating; someone used their lunch break to help a friend with work.
Whatever the case, a person with an altruistic attitude will put others first, not because he feels unworthy, but simply because he is very wise and prefers to prioritize the welfare of others.
2. Thinking about how our actions will affect other people
For example, we get super excited when we find out that our favorite fast food restaurant now has an app that lets us pre-order and skip the line.
However, we later realized that it was annoying for people waiting in line because their orders would be delayed because employees had to prioritize our orders. We finally decided not to use the app and queued up with other people, simply because we didn’t want to inconvenience anyone.
3. Feel better after helping someone
Altruistic individuals have a selfless attitude and they like how they feel after helping others, or in other words people with this attitude like to do good for others.
4. Proactive
We don’t wait for the perfect opportunity to be selfless and helpful, we create it. We volunteer in our communities, donate money to relief efforts, and offer help before someone asks for it.
5. Have and demonstrate a healthy level of self-confidence
We are so sure of our morals and beliefs that we very rarely question ourselves or experience self-doubt. We know that we live by an extraordinary idea and that we are actually making the lives of those around us better, and it certainly makes our lives better too.
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Factors Causing Altruism
What inspires people to give their time, energy and money for the betterment of others, even when they receive no real reward. Psychologists have suggested a number of different explanations for why altruism exists. Factors “existence” of altruism, including namely:
1. Evolution
Kin selection is a theory of evolution that proposes that people are more likely to help those who are blood relatives because doing so increases the chances of passing genes to future generations. The theory suggests that altruism towards close relatives occurs to ensure continuation. from the shared gene. The closer the individual relationship, the more likely people are to help.
2. Psychic Rewards
Altruism activates the reward centers in the brain. Neurobiologists have found that when engaging in altruistic acts, the pleasure centers of the brain become active.
One 2014 study published in the journal Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience found that engaging in acts of compassion activates areas of the brain associated with the reward system , including the dopaminergic ventral tegmental area and the ventral striatum . The positive feelings created by compassionate acts then reinforce altruistic behavior.
3. Environment
A Stanford study shows that interactions and relationships with other people have a major influence on altruistic behavior. Psychologists have long debated whether some people are born with a natural tendency to help others, a theory suggesting that altruism may be controlled in large part by genetics.
The study questioned this theory, finding that socialization had a serious impact on altruistic acts in one- and two-year-old children. Children who observed simple reciprocal acts of altruism were much more likely to show altruistic actions, whereas friendly but non-altruistic model actions did not show the same results.
This research shows that modeling altruistic actions can be an important way to encourage prosocial and compassionate actions in children.
4. Social norms
Societal rules, norms, and expectations can also influence whether or not people engage in altruistic behavior. The norm of reciprocity, for example, is the social expectation that we feel pressured to help others if they have done something for us.
5. Incentive
Although the definition of altruism includes doing for others without reward, there may still be cognitive incentives that are not clear. For example, we may help others to relieve our own distress or because being kind to others upholds our view of ourselves as kind and empathetic people. Other cognitive explanations include:
- Empathy: Researchers suggest that people are more likely to engage in altruistic behavior when they feel empathy for someone in distress, a suggestion known as the empathy-altruism hypothesis.
- Helps relieve negative feelings: Other experts have suggested that altruistic acts help relieve negative feelings created by observing another person in distress, an idea that has been called the negative state-of-help model. Basically, seeing other people in trouble makes us feel irritated, depressed, or uncomfortable, so helping people in trouble helps reduce these negative feelings.
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Impact of Altruism
Altruism is one aspect of what social psychologists call prosocial behavior. Prosocial behavior refers to any action that benefits another person, regardless of the motive or how the giver benefits from the action. However, remember that pure altruism involves true selfishness.
While all altruistic actions are prosocial, not all prosocial behaviors are completely altruistic. We may help others for various reasons such as guilt, obligation, duty or even for a reward.
Example of Altruism
As for examples of altruism, among others, as follows;
1. Daily
Altruism in everyday life can encompass a wide variety of behaviors, from sacrificing one’s life to save another’s, giving money to charity or volunteering at a soup kitchen, taking our time to help someone, to simply waiting a few seconds to hold a door open to a stranger, without seeking recognition for it.
Often, people behave altruistically when they see others in challenging circumstances and feel empathy and a desire to help. Individuals who go out of their way to help others will usually receive something in return, whether it be an intangible gift, such as admiration and respect, or material support at other times.
Those are the articles that we can share with all of you regarding the existence of the notion of altruism according to experts, its characteristics, causal factors, impacts, and examples in everyday life. Hope this gives insight to everyone.