🤝 Examples of Prosocial Behaviour
Prosocial behaviour includes everyday actions like helping someone carry heavy bags, donating to charity, volunteering at local organisations, or simply offering emotional support to a friend in need.
Biological Explanation of Prosocial Behaviour » Rushton Heritability Study
What you'll learn this session
Study time: 30 minutes
- Understand what prosocial behaviour is and why it matters
- Learn about biological explanations for helping behaviour
- Explore Rushton's twin study on heritability of altruism
- Analyse the methodology and findings of the study
- Evaluate the strengths and limitations of genetic explanations
- Consider real-world applications and implications
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Unlock This CourseIntroduction to Prosocial Behaviour
Have you ever wondered why some people seem naturally more helpful than others? Why do some individuals rush to help strangers whilst others walk past? Psychology suggests that our tendency to help others - called prosocial behaviour - might be partly written in our genes.
Key Definitions:
- Prosocial Behaviour: Any action intended to help or benefit another person or group of people.
- Altruism: Helping behaviour that is motivated by genuine concern for others, not personal gain.
- Heritability: The proportion of differences between individuals that can be explained by genetic factors.
- Twin Study: A research method comparing identical and fraternal twins to separate genetic from environmental influences.
Biological Explanations of Prosocial Behaviour
Biological psychologists believe that our genes play a significant role in shaping our behaviour, including how likely we are to help others. This approach suggests that prosocial tendencies might be inherited from our parents, just like eye colour or height.
The Genetic Basis of Helping
From an evolutionary perspective, helping behaviour might have developed because it helped our ancestors survive. Those who cooperated and helped each other were more likely to survive and pass on their genes. This could explain why we still see helping behaviour today - it's literally in our DNA!
🔗 Kin Selection
We're more likely to help relatives because we share genes with them. Helping family members survive means our genes continue.
🤝 Reciprocal Altruism
We help others expecting they might help us back later. This "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours" approach benefits everyone.
👥 Group Selection
Groups with more helpful members survive better than selfish groups. Cooperative societies thrive and pass on their helpful genes.
Rushton's Heritability Study
J. Philippe Rushton, a Canadian psychologist, conducted one of the most famous studies investigating whether prosocial behaviour is inherited. His research aimed to discover how much of our helping behaviour comes from our genes versus our environment.
Study Background
Rushton was interested in understanding individual differences in altruism. He noticed that some people consistently helped others whilst some rarely did. He wondered: "Is this difference due to upbringing, or is it something we're born with?"
Study Methodology
Rushton used the twin study method, which is considered the gold standard for separating genetic from environmental influences. Here's how it works:
👫 Identical Twins
Share 100% of their genes. Any differences between them must be due to environmental factors like different experiences or upbringing.
👬 Fraternal Twins
Share only 50% of their genes (like regular siblings). Differences between them could be due to both genetic and environmental factors.
The Logic: If identical twins are more similar in prosocial behaviour than fraternal twins, this suggests genetic influence. If both types of twins are equally similar, environmental factors are more important.
Participants and Procedure
Rushton studied several hundred pairs of twins, both identical and fraternal. He used multiple methods to measure prosocial behaviour:
- Self-Report Questionnaires: Twins answered questions about their helping behaviour, such as "How often do you donate to charity?" or "Do you volunteer for community activities?"
- Peer Ratings: Friends and family members rated how helpful each twin was in daily life.
- Behavioural Observations: Some studies included actual helping tasks to observe real behaviour.
Case Study Focus
In one part of the study, twins were asked to complete questionnaires about their charitable giving, volunteering and everyday helping behaviours. Their responses were then compared to see if identical twins gave more similar answers than fraternal twins.
Key Findings
Rushton's research produced some fascinating results that changed how psychologists think about prosocial behaviour:
Heritability Estimates
The study found that approximately 50% of the differences in prosocial behaviour between individuals could be explained by genetic factors. This means that half of why you're more or less helpful than your friends might be due to your genes!
🤖 Genetic Influence
About 50% of prosocial behaviour differences were attributed to genetic factors inherited from parents.
🏠 Environmental Influence
The remaining 50% was due to environmental factors like upbringing, culture and personal experiences.
📈 Consistency
These findings were consistent across different measures of prosocial behaviour and different populations.
Specific Behaviours
The study found genetic influences for various types of helping behaviour:
- Charitable Giving: Identical twins showed very similar patterns of donation behaviour
- Volunteering: Genetic factors influenced likelihood to volunteer for community activities
- Empathy: The ability to understand and share others' feelings showed strong genetic components
- Everyday Helping: Small acts of kindness like helping with chores or offering support
Evaluation of the Study
Like all research, Rushton's study has both strengths and limitations that we need to consider:
👍 Strengths
- Scientific Method: Twin studies are well-established and reliable
- Large Sample: Hundreds of twin pairs provided strong statistical power
- Multiple Measures: Used various ways to assess prosocial behaviour
- Replication: Findings have been supported by other researchers
👎 Limitations
- Self-Report Bias: People might not accurately report their behaviour
- Cultural Factors: Most studies conducted in Western cultures
- Gene-Environment Interaction: Genes and environment work together in complex ways
- Ethical Concerns: Some worry about genetic determinism
Real-World Applications
Understanding the genetic basis of prosocial behaviour has important implications for society:
Education and Parenting
Knowing that genetics play a role doesn't mean we can't encourage prosocial behaviour. Parents and teachers can still foster helping behaviour through:
- Modelling helpful behaviour themselves
- Rewarding and praising prosocial actions
- Creating opportunities for children to help others
- Teaching empathy and perspective-taking skills
Important Note
Having a genetic predisposition doesn't mean behaviour is fixed. Environment still plays a huge role - someone with "helpful genes" raised in a hostile environment might not develop prosocial behaviour, whilst someone without this predisposition can still learn to be very helpful.
Social Policy Implications
Understanding genetic influences on prosocial behaviour can inform social policies:
- Volunteer Recruitment: Recognising that some people are naturally more inclined to volunteer
- Intervention Programs: Developing programmes to encourage prosocial behaviour in those less naturally inclined
- Community Building: Creating environments that bring out people's natural helping tendencies
Conclusion
Rushton's heritability study revolutionised our understanding of prosocial behaviour by showing that genetics play a significant role in determining how helpful we are. However, this doesn't mean our behaviour is predetermined - environmental factors are equally important and we can all learn to be more prosocial regardless of our genetic makeup.
The key takeaway is that prosocial behaviour results from a complex interaction between our genes and our experiences. Understanding this helps us appreciate individual differences whilst recognising that everyone has the potential to contribute positively to society.