The Psychology of Prosocial Behavior

The study of helping is among the key issues of social psychological research. It relates to fundamental questions about human nature (such as, are humans capable of pure altruism or is their motivation to act always egoistic?) and to pressing social problems. 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. With an emphasis on helping in the context of social groups and large organizations, this volume presents a new and distinctive perspective that links research on prosocial behavior to interventions designed to foster helping in real-world settings. 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