This book discusses the nature of cooperation, altruism and prosocial behaviour, and the factors that make their occurrence more likely.

Cooperation and Helping Behavior: Theories and Research deals with theory and research with respect to positive forms of social behavior, with emphasis on cooperation and helping behavior. Topics covered include social values and rules of fairness; cognitive processes underlying cooperation; the effects of intergroup competition and cooperation on intragroup and intergroup relationships; and altruism and the problem of collective action. Comprised of 18 chapters, this book begins with an overview of theories and research on cooperation and helping behavior, followed by a discussion on the problem of interdependence within the context of interpersonal relations. Subsequent chapters deal with cognitive processes affecting cooperation; motivational and cognitive antecedents of cooperation; the effects of intergroup competition and cooperation on intragroup and intergroup relationships; and opportunities for gaining satisfactory solutions to conflict through negotiation. Social trap analogs of social dilemmas such as the energy crisis and overpopulation are also examined, together with altruism and the problem of collective action; justice-motive theory; arousal and cost-reward theory of bystander intervention; and the psychological aspects of receiving help. The final chapter considers types of psychological mechanisms underlying prosocial behavior and its development. This monograph will be of value to students and researchers in the field of psychology.

Written by four leading researchers in the study of prosocial behavior, this book introduces a new perspective on prosocial behavior for the 21st century. Building on the bystander intervention work that has defined this area since the 1960s, The Social Psychology of Prosocial Behavior examines prosocial behavior from a multilevel perspective that explores the diverse influences that promote actions for the benefit of others and the myriad ways that prosocial actions can be manifested. The authors expand the breadth of the field, incorporating analyses of biological and genetic factors that predispose individuals to be concerned for the well being of others, as well as planned helping such as volunteering and organizational citizenship behavior and cooperative behavior within and between groups. They identify both the common and the unique processes that underlie the broad spectrum of prosocial behavior. Each chapter begins with a question about prosocial behavior and ends with a summary that answers the question. The final chapter summarizes the questions and the answers that research provides. Conceptual models that elaborate on and extend the multilevel approach to prosocial behavior are used to tie these findings together. The book concludes with suggestions for future research. The Social Psychology of Prosocial Behavior addresses the following: *the evolution of altruistic tendencies and other biological explanations of why humans are predisposed to be prosocial; *how the situation and motives that are elicited by these situations affect when and how people help; *the causes and maintenance of long-term helping, such as volunteering; *how prosocial behavior changes over time and the developmental processes responsible for these changes; *the consequences of helping for both the people who provide it and those who receive it; *helping and cooperation within and between groups and the implications of these actions. This accessible text is ideal for advanced courses on helping and altruism or prosocial behavior, taught in psychology, sociology, management, political science, and communication, or for anyone interested in learning more about prosocial behavior in general.

The Oxford Handbook of Prosocial Behavior provides a comprehensive review of the current literature on when and why people act to benefit others. It provides a comprehensive overview of the field to give both the casual reader and the neophyte to the field some perspective about fundamental questions (what, why, when, and who) relative to prosocial behavior. Taking a multi-level approach, the chapters represent the broad spectrum of this multi-faceted domain. Topics range from micro-level analyses involving evolutionary and comparative psychological factors to macro-level applications, such as reducing intergroup conflicts and ethnic genocide. Between these extremes, the contributors--all internationally recognized in their field--offer their perspectives on developmental processes that may predispose individuals to empathize with and respond to the needs of others, individual differences that seem to interact with situational demands to promote helping, and the underlying motivations of those helping others. They explain volunteerism, intragroup cooperation, and intergroup cooperation to move the analysis from the individual to group-level phenomena. They extend the consideration of this topic to include support of pro-environmental actions, means to encourage participation in medical clinical trials, and the promotion of world peace. The ways that gender, interpersonal relationships, race, and religion might affect decisions to give aid and support to others are also addressed. The final chapter offers a unique view of prosocial behavior that encourages researchers and readers to take an even broader consideration of the field to search for a prosocial consilience.

The Psychology of Prosocial Behavior provides original contributions that examine current perspectives and promising directions for future research on helping behaviors and related core issues. Covers contributions which deal explicitly with interventions designed to foster out-group helping (and to improve its quality) in real world settings Provides the reader with a cohesive look at helping and prosocial behaviors using a combination of theoretical work with research on interventions in applied settings Examines helping from multiple perspectives in order to recognize the diverse influences that promote actions for the benefit of others Contributors to this volume include cutting-edge researchers using both field studies and laboratory experiments

Approx.401 pages

This book was inspired by an intimate, stimulating, intellectually enrich ing conference that took place in Poland. However, the book is not a conference report. Rather, at the time of the conference, participants agreed that it would be worthwhile to create a volume representing the international state of knowledge in pro social behavior, and many of them agreed to write chapters. This volume is the outcome. The book contains chapters by outstanding researchers and scholars who have made substantial contributions to some aspect of scholarship about pro social behavior-helpfulness, generosity, kindness, coopera tion, or other behavior that benefits people. The book concerns itself with how prosocial behavior comes about and what influences contrib ute to or inhibit it; how prosocial behavior, or values and other personal characteristics that promote prosocial behavior, develop; how socializa tion, peer interaction, and other experiences contribute to development; and with the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral consequences of re ceiving help. Some chapters directly, and a number of them implicitly, concern themselves with applications of knowledge about prosocial be havior, particularly with the question of how cooperation and behavior that benefits other people can be promoted. The purpose of the book is. in part to show where the field stands and what knowledge we have accumulated, and in part to suggest fu ture directions and advance the field. It is a truly international book, with contributors from most countries where research on pro social be havior is being conducted.