Displaying 1 - 2 of 2
Current research on prosocial behavior covers a broad and diverse range of phenomena. We argue that this large research literature can be best organized and understood from a multilevel perspective. We identify three levels of analysis of prosocial behavior: (a) the ?meso? level?the study of helper-recipient dyads in the context of a specific situation; (b) the micro level?the study of the origins of prosocial tendencies and the sources of variation in these tendencies; and (c) the macro level?the study of prosocial actions that occur within the context of groups and large organizations. We present research at each level and discuss similarities and differences across levels. Finally, we consider ways in which theory and research at these three levels of analysis might be combined in future intra- and interdisciplinary research on prosocial behavior.
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. Further, they identify both the common and the unique processes that underlie the broad spectrum of prosocial behavior. In summary this book 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.