Understanding why humans engage in prosocial behaviors such as altruism when it is often contrary to our own self-interest and occasionally our well-being has been a topic of increasing interest, both behaviorally and within the brain.Īltruism and related constructs such as cooperation and reciprocity are mostly viewed as uniquely human traits 3 however, some aspects of these constructs have been reported in other species. 2 Altruism is, therefore, opposed by egoism, which is the motivation to increase one's own welfare. 1 In psychological research, altruism is conceptualized as a motivational state that a person possesses with the goal of increasing the welfare of another person. From a biological or evolutionary perspective, altruism is a behavior that decreases the fitness or genetic contribution of one individual while increasing the fitness of another. In essence, biologists and evolutionary scientists often focus on the benefit of a particular behavior while psychologists are interested in understanding the motivation behind the behavior.
While its definition varies depending on the discipline, altruism is often defined as an action that is done with the intention of helping another.
Altruism is a social and interpersonal construct related to various types of prosocial behavior.
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