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12 - Prosociality

from Part III - Behavior

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 February 2025

By
Oriel FeldmanHall  and
Marc-Lluís Vives
Edited by
Bertram Malle  and
Philip Robbins
Bertram Malle
Affiliation:
Brown University, Rhode Island
Philip Robbins
Affiliation:
University of Missouri
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Summary

This chapter of the handbook highlights that, for successful social living, humans’ capacity to be prosocial had to surpass their capacity for selfish and harmful behavior. The authors provide an overview of the scientific study of prosocial capacities, with a focus on experimental research. Summarizing extensive work in laboratory paradigms of behavioral economics and social psychology, the authors document a strong human tendency toward behaving prosocially. They then briefly examine the phylogenetic and developmental origins of behaving prosocially and its different motives, such as reputational concerns and caring for others, as well as emotions that facilitate prosocial behavior, such as empathy or guilt. The authors also summarize insights from cognitive neuroscience on the brain networks that undergird prosocial behavior. They close with a call for more naturalistic experimental paradigms and the consideration of temporal dynamics of prosocial behavior.

Keywords

prosocialitycooperationaltruismtrustdecision makinggame theory
Type
Chapter
Information
The Cambridge Handbook of Moral Psychology , pp. 273 - 302
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2025

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