Altruistic behavior is when people help others without expecting anything in turn, and sometimes even at a cost of themselves. This essay will compare and contrast two theories that explain altruism in humans. Those two theories are the kin selection theory, which is a biological explanation, and the empathy-altruism theory, which is a cognitive explanation.
First approach to explain altruism is the kin selection theory that based on evolution theory.
The kin selection theory is about the idea that individuals tend to sacrifice themselves for relatives in order to pass their genes to next generation. To support this theory, Sime (1983) conducted a research about the role of kin-selection in altruistic behavior. Sime interviewed people who survived from fire and assumed that, when people faced with threat, people not only take care of themselves but also try to maintain kinship. Sime looked at the way that people exited the building during the emergency like fire. When the fire started, two thirds of the families emerged together but only one quarter of the non-families emerged together. Additionally, when members are …show more content…
asked participants to display their willingness to offer help for different people in a various situations. The results showed that participants tend to help direct relative than a stranger. Moreover, younger relatives were more likely to be helped than older ones based on the research. This implies the motivation of human that humans want to make certain about passing their genes for the future.
Practical studies support kin selection theory that people show preference for helping close blood relatives. However, this theory cannot explain why people help individuals who are not relatives. In order to improve this limitation, Batson et al. (1981) presented their empathy-altruism theory. While kin selection theory explains why we tend to help people who are related, empathy-altruism theory explains why we help unrelated people as
First approach to explain altruism is the kin selection theory that based on evolution theory.
The kin selection theory is about the idea that individuals tend to sacrifice themselves for relatives in order to pass their genes to next generation. To support this theory, Sime (1983) conducted a research about the role of kin-selection in altruistic behavior. Sime interviewed people who survived from fire and assumed that, when people faced with threat, people not only take care of themselves but also try to maintain kinship. Sime looked at the way that people exited the building during the emergency like fire. When the fire started, two thirds of the families emerged together but only one quarter of the non-families emerged together. Additionally, when members are …show more content…
asked participants to display their willingness to offer help for different people in a various situations. The results showed that participants tend to help direct relative than a stranger. Moreover, younger relatives were more likely to be helped than older ones based on the research. This implies the motivation of human that humans want to make certain about passing their genes for the future.
Practical studies support kin selection theory that people show preference for helping close blood relatives. However, this theory cannot explain why people help individuals who are not relatives. In order to improve this limitation, Batson et al. (1981) presented their empathy-altruism theory. While kin selection theory explains why we tend to help people who are related, empathy-altruism theory explains why we help unrelated people as