Some people are inclined to take charge of the well-being of others more than others, spontaneously and independently of the circumstances and the recipients, sometimes at the cost of considerable personal sacrifices and risks. Not only people candidates for sainthood like Mother Teresa of Calcutta, but also ordinary individuals, who in the most varied circumstances do not hesitate to put their lives in danger to protect those of others. Although it may seem fickle in a society like today’s, so oriented towards competition and threatened by discord, the truth is that those who take care of others also do good for themselves.
Doing good is not accidental, but intentional and, as such, reflects the coordination of emotional, cognitive and motivational structures, such as feelings, convictions of efficacy, values, expectations, goals. In this Psychology-Online article we will delve deeper into What is prosocial behavior, its characteristics, the different types and how to develop it.
What is prosocial behavior
Mussen and Eisenberg (1985) defined prosocial behavior in terms of “actions intended to help or benefit another person or group of people, without expecting external rewards”. Therefore, a prosocial action is any behavior carried out at its own expense by an individual or a group and aimed at achieving or improving the well-being of another person or a group of people, or at reducing their suffering or at improving relationships.
In the field of reflection and psychosocial research, interest in prosocial behavior is relatively recent: the period of greatest expansion of research on this topic is between the sixties and the first eighties of the last century. The beginning was determined, especially in the United States, by the increase in criminal phenomena, particularly in large cities: a series of cases of shock due to the fact that some passersby or observers witnessed episodes of violence without providing help to the victims. desperate Public opinion wondered about the disappearance of social norms and the decline of the times.
The emblematic episode that caught the attention of public opinion and psychologists was the murder of Kitty Genovese, which occurred on March 3, 1964 in Kew Gardens, Queens, a suburb of New York.
Examples of prosocial behavior
More specifically, the expression “prosocial behavior” or “prosociality” is used to indicate a wide range of behaviors or conduct intended to benefit other people in addition to themselves, such as:
- Aid
- The consolation
- The donation
- The care
- The sharing
Actions that concretely translate into physical help, verbal support, listening: behaviors intended to benefit another person and that may have altruistic, selfish or mixed motivations at their base.
Characteristics of prosocial behavior
Most psychologists believe that any voluntary behavior that benefits other people has the right to be recognized as prosocial. A broad category of behaviors, characterized by intention to procure a favor for another person and freedom of choice (for example, the absence of professional obligations), which also includes behaviors that can be classified as altruistic.
Criteria to consider an action prosocial:
- The act must benefit an individual, or more individuals, or a group of individuals.
- The agent or issuer of the conduct is not obliged to fulfill its obligations.
- The conduct must be gratuitous, that is, spontaneous, not requested by another individual.
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Types of prosocial behaviors
Social psychologists, however, have not developed specific theories for the study of prosocial behavior, but they have tried to read this phenomenon either within existing classical theories and microtheories, validating their reading with research data, or from existing theories. proposed by other disciplines. Below is a summary of the conception of prosocial behavior according to the different theories:
- : behavior learned from others, by imitation, adapting to an existing situation.
- Social norms theory: result of the norms of giving and social responsibility.
- Theory of social exchange and equity: instrumental behavior to successively obtain reward and compensation for injustices and imbalances in the system.
- Attribution theory: result of the assignment of the provisions or situations carried out.
- Stress reduction: result of the inability to tolerate the disturbance and anguish caused by the suffering of others.
- Maintenance/increase of self-esteem: result of the desire/need to increase or maintain positive evaluation of the self.
- Cognitive-evolutionary theory: expression of a moral process of development.
- Sociobiological-evolutionary theory: genetically determined behavior that has the function of safeguarding the species.
Factors that influence prosocial behavior
There are numerous factors or situations that favor or inhibit help:
- The number of spectators in case of emergency.
- Whether or not to observe the help situation and interpret it as an emergency situation.
- The ability to take responsibility in this situation.
- In general, people are more likely to help when they have just observed another person helping, or when they have a lot of time on their hands.
- Even humor and physical similarity have a bearing on the predisposition to help.
How to develop prosocial behavior
Research suggests that to increase helping or prosocial behaviors it is necessary to:
- Reduce or eliminate factors that hinder them: reduce ambiguity and increase responsibility, activate the feeling of guilt and concern for one’s own image.
- Teach prosociality and altruism: teaching moral inclusion, creating models of altruism, learning by doing, attributing altruistic behavior to altruistic motivations, knowing the mechanisms that regulate altruism.
- Promote the action of the norm of reciprocity.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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Bibliography
- Caprara, G.V. (2006). The prosocial behavior. Aspetti individuali, familiali and sociali. Trent: Erickson.
- Marta, E., Scabini, E. (2003). Giovani volontari. Impegnarsi, crescere e far crescere. Florence: Giunti.
- Myers, D. G. (2009). Social psychology. Milan: McGraw-Hill.