Altruism in Humans

1. Auflage 2011
ISBN: 978-0-19-534106-5
Verlag: OXFORD UNIV PR

Buch, Englisch, 336 Seiten, Print PDF, Format (B × H): 161 mm x 240 mm, Gewicht: 669 g

We send money to help famine victims halfway around the world. We campaign to save whales and oceans. We stay up all night to comfort a friend with a broken relationship. People will at times risk -- even lose -- their lives for others, including strangers. Why do we do these things? What motivates such behavior?

Altruism in Humans takes a hard-science look at the possibility that we humans have the capacity to care for others for their sakes rather than simply for our own. Based on an extensive series of theory-testing laboratory experiments conducted over the past 35 years, this book details a theory of altruistic motivation, offers a comprehensive summary of the research designed to test the empathy-altruism hypothesis, and considers the theoretical and practical implications of this conclusion.

Authored by the world's preeminent scholar on altruism, this landmark work is an authoritative scholarly resource on the theory surrounding altruism and its potential contribution to better interpersonal relations and a better society.

Zielgruppe

Scholars, researchers, and graduate students in social psychology, philosophy, biology, economics, sociology, anthropology, and theology

Autoren/Hrsg.

Batson, C. Daniel

Fachgebiete

• Sozialwissenschaften Psychologie Allgemeine Psychologie Sozialpsychologie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

- Introduction

- Part I: A Theory of Altruistic Motivation

- 1. The Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis

- 2. Antecedents of Empathic Concern

- 3. Behavioral Consequences of Empathy-Induced Altruism

- Part II: Empirical Evidence

- 4. Turning to Experiments

- 5. Testing the Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis

- 6. Two Further Challenges to the Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis

- Part III: Altruism in Action

- 7. Benefits of Empathy-Induced Altruism

- 8. Liabilities

- 9. Toward a Pluralism of Prosocial Motives-and a More Humane Society

- Summary and Conclusion

- References

Über Autor(innen)

Batson, C. Daniel
C. Daniel Batson, Professor Emeritus, University of Kansas

Dan Batson is an experimental social psychologist. He received his Ph.D. in psychology from Princeton University in 1972 and then taught at the University of Kansas until his retirement in 2008. For over 30 years, his research has focused on the existence of altruistic motivation and on its antecedents and consequences. He has published well over a hundred research articles and chapters on these topics. This is his second book on altruism.

Dan Batson is an experimental social psychologist. He received his Ph.D. in psychology from Princeton University in 1972 and then taught at the University of Kansas until his retirement in 2008. For over 30 years, his research has focused on the existence of altruistic motivation and on its antecedents and consequences. He has published well over a hundred research articles and chapters on these topics. This is his second book on altruism.