Prosocial Behaviour

Introduction

Prosocial behaviour refers to voluntary behaviour aimed to benefit other persons, regardless of the benefactor's motives. It includes a variety of behaviours like sharing, donating, caring, comforting and helping and is often associated with altruism because both concepts involve the pursuit of another's good and may imply common components such as empathy and sympathy (Batson, 1998; Eisenberg & Fabes, 1998; Schroeder, Penner, Dovidio & Piliavin, 1995). In this entry, a number of issues related to the determinants and functions of prosocial behaviour are described, drawing from main directions of research and from recent findings.

Determinants and Functions of Prosocial Behaviour

Although the importance of being able to benefit others is quite obvious for the quality of social interactions between individuals and among groups, the determinants of ...

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