Altruistic behaviour such as helping an unfamiliar person in need is considered a key feature of cooperation in human societies.
In short, some values make us act in more selfish and competitive ways, while others are associated with more cooperative and
altruistic behaviour.
The theory of kin selection has for some time allowed biologists to explain why some animals and other organisms adopt
altruistic behaviour, at their own expense, for the benefit of their relatives.
It is thought that human brains may have evolved to favour
altruistic behaviour through the development of these areas of the brain.
Release date- 16082012 - Neighbourhood income deprivation has a strong negative effect on
altruistic behaviour when measured by a 'lost letter' experiment, according to new UCL research published today in PLoS One.
There has never been a time in human history when we have not relied on co-operative,
altruistic behaviour for our survival.
In fact,
altruistic behaviour of economic agencies has sometimes been observed and under such situations technical externalities may be exerted after internalization without intervention of parties other than the interested ones.
Empathy is a motive of
altruistic behaviour. Empathy is a source of human altruism that evolved as a by-product of strategic thought.
Animals are capable of love, have powerful memories, display
altruistic behaviour, vanity & self- consciousness, can be caring and have a sense of fun.
Altruistic behaviour originally proved difficult to explain in evolutionary terms: in a simple Darwinian world, any gene promoting altruism should be rapidly driven to extinction.
In this sense, Hamilton's rule defines an
altruistic behaviour in family firms where the cost of altruism is less than the benefit weighted by relatedness.