Definition
Altruism can generally be understood as voluntary behavior which benefits another organism(s) but that demands from the benefactor a certain sacrifice, that is, an action that increases the beneficiary’s aptitude at the cost of the benefactor’s aptitude. In this sense, self-sacrifice is a hallmark of altruism, given that it can sometimes involve risk, be unhealthy, or even be dangerous.
Introduction
More and more people are recognizing the importance of behaviors aimed at benefiting others (i.e., pro-social behaviors). This signals the importance of becoming aware of the implications of such actions for society as a whole. Of the different psychological phenomena, altruism stands out, this in view of the potentially high cost to the benefactor. This is true specifically in the case of human beings, which demonstrate their potential to act for the other in various ways, such as donating blood or organs or...
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de Moura, H.M., Mendes, D.M.L.F. (2020). Observation of Altruism. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3476-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_3476-1
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