PSY 400 HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT

Altruism and Social Exchange

Social exchange relating to altruism can be difficult to put together. Altruism, which is the act of performing a service for someone without any expectation or rewards in return contrasts the theory of social exchange, which is when two parties mutually benefit by one party performing a service or task for the other (Fiske, 2014).

In the article, Desperately Seeking a Kidney (Satel, Dec 16, 2007), Sally is struggling with the few people who have offered her a kidney and then backed out. These are obviously not examples of altruism as their reasoning for giving her a kidney were overridden by either their fears, lack of time or in one instance, a misguided bit of advice from a doctor. All three of these people intended to give unselfishly to Sally by donating a kidney, but in the end, were unable to do so because of different self-serving reasons. However, the fourth and final person to step forward did so without any sort of expectation of a mutual benefit because she was donating a kidney to Sally (Satel, Dec 16, 2007). Her motives appeared to be pure. She was not seeking any kind of social gain. Therefore, the social exchange theory does not apply in this situation because she would not benefit from donating her organ.

Altruism Social Responsibility

Social responsibility is clarified as individuals of all walks of life, circumstances are mostly responsible for their life and well-being. The best way to illustrate social responsibility is by incorporating it into our government, more specifically our U.S. President. The reason why this example is a great illustration is because it is a position of power and authority, which equals leadership and power. Individuals in these types of positions all over the world are looked upon and expected to help others that are beneath them because we as humans place these individuals there. Within this article that was published by The New York Times altruism was put on great display through the meaning of giving and not expecting anything in return. In this article, the meaning of self within their social environment was put on a great display. Sally was motivated in finding a donor regarding her situation, rather than just waiting for one. Humans are, above all, social. As with all primates, humans owe their success as a species in large measure to their ability to cooperate in finding solutions to the problems of everyday survival and reproduction. People can do that mainly because they can call upon the willing commitment of moderately large numbers of individuals (Barrett & Dunbar, 2012, p. 1).

Reciprocity & Altruism

As humans, people display a variety of pro-social behaviors. In the course of recent decades, a great effort has gone into developing and explaining the behavior of reciprocal altruism. Psychologists and sociologists view altruistic behavior as a means of the reciprocity theory. Reciprocity and altruism go hand in hand. According to Trivers (1971) as stated in Fiske (2014) reciprocal altruism holds that if people help others who help them, then the survival of both is more likely. The principle of reciprocity holds that people believe that if they give help, others will help them in return. According to Fiske (2014) people practice the act of reciprocity for different reasons. In indirect reciprocity, individuals feel the need to help simply to develop an altruistic reputation, with no hidden motive. Organ donation is crouched in the discourse of altruism. Like the author in “Desperately Seeking a Kidney” there are many people in the United States awaiting a kidney transplant. Altruism has been the guiding principle for the donation of kidneys in an ethical manner. Psychologists theorized that there are a variety of reasons why individuals display pro-social behaviors. In many cases, these behaviors are a result of childhood and adolescent encouragement to share and help others (Savulesco, 2014). Altruism and reciprocity are mutually important for individual’s pro-social behaviors. Both should be encouraged, but most importantly, is a balance between both, and the understanding of how to use them effectively.

References

Barrett, L., & Dunbar, R. (2012). The Self and the Social World . : .

Fiske, S.T., (2014) Social Beings: Core Motives in Social Psychology (3rd ed.) Retrieved from: University of Phoenix eBook Collection