altruism , concept in philosophy and psychology that holds that the interests of others, rather than of the self, can motivate an individual. The term was invented in the 19th cent. by the French philosopher Auguste Comte , who devised it as the opposite of egoism . Herbert Spencer and John Stuart Mill , English contemporaries of Comte, accepted the worth of altruism but argued that the true moral aim should be the welfare of society, rather than that of individuals.

altruism Behaviour which takes account of the interests of others, usually treated as in opposition to egoism, selfishness, and individualism. There are extensive theoretical and empirical research literatures in social psychology, economics, political behaviour, and sociobiology (as well as sociology) on altruism, its sources and consequences, and on whether altruistic behaviour is ultimately reducible to and explained by egoistic motives. Research on altruism is also relevant to exchange theory and rational choice theory, public policy-making, and the voluntary sector. Studies have focused on blood donation; acts of bravery in wars and other conflicts; spontaneous acts of helping strangers in public situations compared to help offered to family and friends; the willingness of citizens to tax themselves for the benefit of others; participation in voluntary non-profit organizations; and giving money to charities.

Research seems to confirm that altruism is part of human nature. People do have regard to the interests and needs of others, make sacrifices for their children and even non-kin, and contribute to public goods. Some research suggests there is a hereditary component in altruism. Other social animals display altruistic behaviour, for example birds give predator alarms. Sociobiologists have identified selection processes that lead to the establishment and perpetuation of ‘altruistic’ genes in populations. In addition, socialization in the family and community encourages people to adhere to public-spirited values and engage in helping behaviour. People who do voluntary work generally give altruistic reasons for becoming involved in such activities (such as a desire to help others). But self-oriented reasons are often simultaneously present, such as the desire to gain work experience, enjoyment of social contacts, and an interest in the particular activity in question. For some people, involvement in charity work confers the prestige, power in the community, and self-fulfilment that others obtain from employment. Similarly, studies of corporate philanthropy conclude that charitable donations are good for business, with enlightened self-interest rather than altruism being the driving factor in firms' public activities. In many cultures, gift-giving is used to enhance prestige, or even defines a person's social status.

Economists are concerned with the ‘free rider’ problem in the provision or use of public goods, such as the problem of the person who benefits from public TV but does not contribute his or her share of the costs through taxes, or the country that regularly exceeds its allocated fishing quota and so depletes fish stocks for all other countries fishing in the same seas. Sociologists are concerned rather with the development of trust and co-operation in relationships, and the impact of social norms and group identity on decision-making in social dilemmas. These issues are often studied through decision-making in the Prisoner's Dilemma game, with variable results from short-term studies.

Research based on simulations with the Prisoner's Dilemma game has shown that, in the long run, altruism and selfishness are not always or necessarily mutually exclusive choices. In his Evolution of Cooperation (1984) R. Axelrod showed how co-operation can evolve in a society of completely self-interested individuals, in effect that altruism and individualism are not necessarily in conflict in human society where public goods are of benefit to all, including people who do not use them directly. Axelrod carried out a series of computer simulations to assess the effectiveness of various strategies in the Prisoner's Dilemma game, an issue which is usually studied with laboratory experiments of short duration. Strategies were submitted to the tournament by sixty-two players in six countries from the fields of psychology, economics, political science, mathematics, and sociology. Contrary to expectation, one of the simplest strategies, named TIT FOR TAT, emerged repeatedly as the winner, owing to a combination of being nice, retaliatory, forgiving, and clear. By using computer simulations of the competing strategies, the game could be run for a much longer time and with a larger number of diverse players than in laboratory experiments, thus approximating to evolution in the long term. For a useful overview of relevant literature see J. A. Piliavin and and H.- W. Charng , ‘Altruism’, Annual Review of Sociology (1990)
. See also GIFT RELATIONSHIP; SUICIDE.

Altruism

Altruism, defined as an action that benefits the receiver but comes at some cost to the performer, is one of the four types of social interactions that can occur between animals of the same species. Figure 1 summarizes these four interactions. Cooperation, where both actor and receiver benefit, and selfishness, where the action benefits the actor at the expense of the receiver, are by far the most common of the four interactions in nature. Spite, where both actor and receiver are harmed, and altruism are very rare.

The prevalence of cooperation and selfishness over altruism and spite is explained by the rules of natural selection . The currency of natural selection is offspring. Any anatomical, physiological, or behavioral trait that enhances an individual's ability to produce more offspring will be favored, and the trait will be selected regardless of the effects on others. For example, seagulls sometimes steal food from nesting neighbors to feed themselves and their chicks. This behavior clearly increases the fitness of the actor while decreasing the fitness of the receiver; it is selfish. Imagine an altruistic seagull that willingly provided food for its neighbors. This trait would not last very long in the population because the helpful gull would not be able to feed many of its own offspring.

Reciprocal Altruism and Kin Selection

Despite the odds against altruism evolving, it does exist in nature. Some biologists, however, consider these instances to be examples of pseudoaltruism, and insist that true altruism has yet to be found. Pseudoaltruistic acts appear to be altruistic, but "in the long run" are actually beneficial to the actor. There are two types of pseudoaltruism—reciprocal altruism and kin selection.

Reciprocal altruism.

This occurs when the actor acts altruistically in expectation of having the same done in return at a later time. Many animals that live in groups will post sentinels to watch for predators while the rest forage for food. The sentinel changes several times daily, so the animal "on duty" is assured of being protected later when it is his turn to forage. Vampire bats provide another example. If, when the group returns from hunting, one individual has not found food, a neighbor will regurgitate a portion of its meal for the hungry one. The next evening, the helpful bat may be the hungry one and need the favor returned.

Kin selection.

This other type of pseudoaltruism, kin selection, was proposed by British scientist W. D. Hamilton in 1964. He realized that an individual could not only increase his fitness by having its own offspring, but it could also help a close relative raise its offspring, since they share genes. The combination of individual fitness and fitness through kin selection is inclusive fitness. Hamilton argued that if the benefits the actor receives by helping its relatives outweighs the cost of the action, then altruism can evolve. This concept can be expressed mathematically through Hamilton's Rule : br c, where b is the benefit to the actor, r is the relatedness of the actor to the receiver, and c is the cost to the actor. Relatedness is measured by the proportion of genes that are identical between two individuals. Because of Mendelian inheritance, half of a diploid individual's genes are shared with each of its parents, siblings, and children. Diploid grandparents share one-quarter of their genes with their grandchildren, and cousins share one-eighth of their genes with each other. An individual who helps two of its siblings, four of its grandchildren, or eight of its cousins is just as fit as the individual who helps only itself.

Kenyan bee-eaters of the bird genus Merops, have evolved behaviors by kin selection. Male bee-eaters will typically forgo reproducing when they are young, instead opting to help more mature birds raise their young. These young males help relatives more often than nonrelatives, thus raising their inclusive fitness. Young males that attempt to have their own offspring actually fare worse than helpers because their territories are too poor to raise more than one chick.

Conclusion

The classic example of altruism occurs in the eusocial bees. Honeybee workers rarely reproduce, letting the queen provide all the offspring. An unusual chromosome condition, called haplodiploidy , produces unusual relatedness among the bees in a hive. Workers are actually more related to their sisters (eggs laid by the queen) than their own offspring! Although honeybees are considered the classic example of altruism, they really practice a form of kin selection. True altruism has not yet been found in nature, and some scientists believe that true altruism can be found only in human populations.

see also Social Animals.

Jes Marie Creech

Bibliography

Alcock, John. Animal Behavior, 6th ed. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, 1997.

Pfennig, David W., and Paul W. Sherman. "Kin Recognition." Scientific American 272, no. 6 (1995): 98-103.

Sherman, Paul W., and John Alcock. Exploring Animal Behavior: Readings from American Scientist, 2nd ed. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer Associates, 1998.

Wilson, Edward O. Sociobiology: The New Synthesis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1975.