ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the question why do people help? It explores the range of possible motivations for spontaneous helping. The chapter shows that it is easy to make the case that some form of psychological altruism occurs among humans. It is based on conscious, rational decision making and involves intentions to benefit another person. Social learning commonly occurs by observing others' behavior and the consequences it produces for them. One of the fundamental principles of human behavior is that people are motivated to do things that are personally reinforcing, things that bring them immediate gratification or have longer term personal benefits. Social norms, which are rules for accepted and expected behavior in situations, are an important determinant of people's intentions to help. The role of empathic emotions in prosocial motivation is the focus of several arousal and affect models of helping. Historically, social psychologists treated motives rather broadly and compared how positive versus negative feelings affected people's behaviors.
