Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Gratitude of Caring: Altruism and Empathy

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
The Spectrum of Gratitude Experience

Abstract

This chapter extends the discussion of cooperation and reciprocity to include altruistic motivations and behavior. Research that describes the puzzle of altruism is framed from the perspective of multilevel selection theory. Concepts of the individual self and relational self are used to define the patterns of gratitude that go beyond mere exchange of benefit to include the gratitude of caring. The role of empathy in theories of altruism is used to describe the dynamics of sharing and mutuality. Concepts of mutuality and interdependence help to extend the role of gratitude in human relationships.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 19.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 24.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 119.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Bibliography

  • Aron, Arthur, Elaine Aron, and Danny Smollan. 1992. Inclusion of Other in the Self Scale and the Structure of Interpersonal Closeness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 63(4): 596–612.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Batson, C. Daniel. 1991. The Altruism Question: Toward a Social-Psychological Answer. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Batson, C. Daniel, Janine L. Dyck, J. Randall Brandt, Judy G. Batson, Anne L. Powell, M. Rosalie McMaster, and Carl Griffitt. 1988. Five Studies Testing Two New Egoistic Alternatives to the Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 55(1): 52–77.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boehm, Christopher. 2012. Moral Origins: The Evolution of Virtue, Altruism, and Shame. Philadelphia, PA: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bowlby, J. 1988. A Secure Base: Parent-Child Attachment and Healthy Human Development. London, Great Britain: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Buck, Ross. 2004. The Gratitude of Exchange and the Gratitude of Caring: A Developmental-Interactionist Perspective of Moral Emotion. In The Psychology of Gratitude, ed. Robert A. Emmons, and Michael E. McCullough, 100–122. Oxford, Great Britain: Oxford University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cialdini, Robert B., Stephanie L. Brown, Brian P. Lewis, Carol Luce, and Steven L. Neuberg. 1997. Reinterpreting the Empathy-Altruism Relationship: When One into One Equals Oneness. Joumal of Personality and Social Psychology 73(3): 481–494.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cialdini, Robert B., and Douglas T. Kenrick. 1976. Altruism as Hedonism: A Social Development Perspective on the Relationship of Negative Mood State and Helping. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 34(5): 907–914.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cialdini, Robert B., Mark Schaller, Donald Houlihan, Kevin Aips, Jim Fultz, and Arthur L. Beaman. 1987. Empathy-Based Helping: Is It Selflessly or Selfishly Motivated? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 52(4): 749–758.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • ———. 1879/2004. The Descent of Man. London, England: Penguin Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M.H. 1983. Measuring Individual Differences in Empathy: Evidence for a Multidimensional Approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 44(1): 113–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawkins, Richard. 1976. The Selfish Gene. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Decety, J. 2011. Neural Mechanisms Mediating Empathy. Emotion Review 3(1): 92–108.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Desmonde, William H. 2006[1967]. Mead, George Herbert (1863–1931). In Borchert, Donald M. Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 79–82. Macmillan Reference.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fultz, Jim, C. Daniel Batson, Victoria A. Fortenbach, Patricia M. McCarthy, and Laurel L. Varney. 1986. Social Evaluation and the Empathy-Altruism Hypothesis. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 50(4): 761–769.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gardner, H.E. 2006. Multiple Intelligences. New York: Basic Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gergen, K.J. 2011. The Self as Social Construction. Psychological Studies 56(1): 108–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goleman, D. 2006. Emotional Intelligence. New York: Bantam Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelley, H.H. (ed). 1983. Close Relationships. New York: W. H. Freeman & Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keltner, D., and J. Haidt. 2003. Approaching Awe, A Moral, Spiritual, and Aesthetic Emotion. Cognition and Emotion 17(2): 297–314.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kurzban, Robert. 2003. Biological Foundations of Reciprocity. In Trust and Reciprocity: Interdisciplinary Lessons from Experimental Research, ed. Elinor Ostrom, and James Walker. New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lewin, K. 1947. Frontiers in Group Dynamics: Concept, Method and Reality in Social Science; Social Equilibria and Social Change. Human Relations 1(36): 1–41. doi:10.1177/001872674700100103.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maner, J.K., and M.T. Gailliot. 2007. Altruism and Egoism: Prosocial Motivations for Helping Depend on Relationship Context. European Journal of Social Psychology 37: 347–358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maner, Jon K., Carol L. Luce, Steven L. Neuberg, Robert B. Cialdini, Stephanie Brown, and Brad J. Sagarin. 2002. The Effects of Perspective Taking on Motivations for Helping: Still No Evidence for Altruism. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 28(11): 1601–1610.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neuberg, Steven L., Robert B. Cialdini, Stephanie L. Brown, Carol Luce, Brad J. Sagarin, and Brian P. Lewis. 1997. Does Empathy Lead to Anything More Than Superficial Helping? Comment on Batson Et-Al. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 73(3): 510–516.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Noddings, N. 2003. Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sedikides, C., and M.B. Brewer. 2001. Individual Self, Relational Self, and Collective Self: Partner, Opponents, or Strangers? In Individual Self, Relational Self, and Collective Self, ed. C. Sedikides, and M.B. Brewer, 1–6. Philadelphia, PA: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sedikides, C., L. Gaertner, and E.M. O’Mara. 2011. Individual Self, Relational Self, Collective Self: Hierarchical Ordering of the Tripartite Self. Psychological Studies 56(1): 98–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siegel, Daniel J. 1999. The Developing Mind: Toward a Neurobiology of Interpersonal Experience. New York: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thibaut, J.W., and H.H. Kelley. 1959. The Social Psychology of Groups. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, E.O. 1978/2004. On Human Nature. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, Edward O. 2014. The Meaning of Human Existence. New York: Liveright Publishing Corporation.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, David Sloan. 2015. Does Altruism Exist? New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sophia University, Palo Alto, USA

    John Elfers

  2. University of St. Thomas, Minneapolis, USA

    Patty Hlava

Authors
  1. John Elfers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Patty Hlava
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Elfers, J., Hlava, P. (2016). The Gratitude of Caring: Altruism and Empathy. In: The Spectrum of Gratitude Experience. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41030-2_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation