Altruism in Humans
1st Edition
Published on 7. July 2011
Book
Hardback
336 pages
978-0-19-534106-5 (ISBN)
Description
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.
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.
Reviews / Votes
I believe that Altruism in Humans is a momentous work that comes after Batson's retirement and will stand as the hallmark of his career. * PsycCRITIQUES *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
New York
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Scholars, researchers, and graduate students in social psychology, philosophy, biology, economics, sociology, anthropology, and theology
Dimensions
Height: 240 mm
Width: 161 mm
Thickness: 23 mm
Weight
669 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-534106-5 (9780195341065)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Person
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.
Content
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