As humans, we tend to focus on the negatives and wrongdoings occurring in the world rather than looking at all of the good that’s being done. Prosocial behavior is a key example of these good deeds, and it refers to when someone does something purposely in order to help or benefit another person.
When compared to antisocial behavior which can isolate you from others and earn you a bad reputation, prosocial behavior does the opposite. Doing something good for another person has a great impact on their lives and also helps society as a whole to function smoothly. On a much closer level, you’re improving the relationships you have with others by doing this deeds for them.
What exactly constitutes prosocial behavior can be hard for experts to define, with some feeling that the lines of this behavior and altruism often become crossed. What is known though, is the many benefits that occur from exhibiting prosocial behavior, which we intend on delving into further.
What Is Prosocial Behavior?
The simplest explanation for prosocial behavior is a voluntary action that one does in order to benefit another individual or group. There are many ways that we exhibit this behavior daily, from something as small as holding the door open for another person, or much larger and grander gestures.
Often compared to altruism, whereby a person does a completely selfless act and receives no benefit for themselves, prosocial behavior often makes you feel good and satisfied with your actions. Therefore, it’s impossible to call it altruism. However, some psychologists believe that true altruism doesn’t even exist, and it is near impossible to judge regardless.
The motivation for this type of behavior will depend on the situation and the individual. Some experts believe it’s merely a hedonistic act done to make ourselves feel good, others believe it’s because we are acting out of a place of empathy and understanding, and some say it’s because of internal moral beliefs. Whatever the reason for these good deeds, there are still many benefits that can be earned by the giver and recipient.
Examples of Prosocial Behavior
Prosocial behavior isn’t just something that charity workers or volunteers do, as there are simple acts of it occurring all around us every day. Here are just a few examples of prosocial behavior with some that you might recognize having done them yourself in the past.
- Stopping on the side of the road to help stranded motorists call for help or fix their car.
- Sharing your lunch with someone who doesn’t have any or may have forgotten theirs.
- Donating time and money to a worthy cause or volunteering for services that help others.
- Helping an elderly or disable person to cross the road, carry groceries, or other general activity.
- Picking up someone’s belongings when they have dropped them on the sidewalk or helping them to clean up a mess.
The point of prosocial behavior is that you’re helping others with no intention of getting something for yourself. It’s an act done by the kindness of your heart that is intended to help someone else and not gains any credit, thanks or other benefits. However, it’s hard to determine when someone might be doing so as a selfless deed as there may be times that people are seeking validation or reward for their behavior.
Origins of this Behavior
What’s most fascinating to note about prosocial behavior is that it’s not just humans who will exert it. Studies have shown that other animals engage in this type of behavior and will often go out of their way to help each other, including grooming each other and helping others that are injured or sick.
However, it’s important to note that with all animals – even humans – there are many cases of reciprocal altruism occurring. This means that a favor is being done because they want something in return for it, whether it’s now or later.
Studies have also shown that animals are more likely to display prosocial behavior to their relatives as they are trying to protect and assist their lineage, rather than just being helpful to everyone. This is true for both humans and other animals, and easy to spot when you see younger siblings helping each other out.
Potential Influences on These Good Deeds
There have been numerous studies on prosocial behavior, what causes it and also what can affect it. There are certain characteristics that can determine how and if people react to a social situation that usually elicits a prosocial response. Previous incidences in history include people watching crimes being committed or ignoring an otherwise troubling situation because of many variances, including:
- People look to their peers and other bystanders to see how to react to a situation. If nobody is acting on it, it’s more likely that nobody else will either.
- The more people that are present will reduce the chance that people will help. This is often referred to as the diffusion of responsibility. If there’s just one person there the onus is more on them to assist, whereas if there are many it can be difficult to find someone willing to step up.
- If people feel fear that they will be judged by others for a particular action then they may be less likely to help out. Another fear is that they will try to help someone who didn’t actually need or want help, so they prefer to stay back and wait for that person to ask.
The Benefits of Prosocial Behavior
We often look at how prosocial behavior is benefiting the person or group we are helping, but it can actually be beneficial for the one who offers help. These are just some ways that you can benefit from prosocial behavior when you are the giver.
Reduced stress
A recent study found that people who admitted to performing more prosocial activities reported feeling less stressed than those who did none at all. The feel-good emotion you get from helping others can help you stress less about life, which is another great reason to try it out.
Overall good mood
Just knowing that you’ve done something to help another person out is enough to boost your mood and improve happiness. Whether it’s a small act of like picking up dropped papers or something more significant, you’ll walk away from it in a better mood than before you helped them.
Better mental health
When looking at previous studies, subjects who purposely engaged in acts of kindness throughout their everyday life reported feeling better mentally with reductions in stress, anxiety, and depression.
Life satisfaction
Studies of a group of people who performed acts of kindness for 10 days versus those who didn’t have some interesting findings on their satisfaction levels. Those who did acts of kindness reported a higher level of life satisfaction in just 10 days which shows how little it takes for good deeds to start impacting your life for the better.
Improved society and relationships
Doing a good deed for someone else will improve your relationship with them, but it also improves on society as a whole. If more people were committed to these types of good deeds we would see a vast improvement in society.
Helping Others Can Help Everyone
While it’s nice to think that we are doing good deeds for others purely out of the kindness of our hearts, there are often many benefits that we’ll get from it as well. That’s no reason not to continue helping others, and actually should provide even more incentive to do so, as you’ll both be able to benefit from your kind act.
There are so many ways that you can exhibit prosocial behavior but the best way is to act at the moment and give help whenever it’s needed. Do so without the expectation that anything will be reciprocated, and you might be pleasantly surprised by just how good you feel afterward.
After learning that these types of prosocial behaviors are prevalent throughout the animal kingdom, and not just with us humans, it shows that helping others is something internal that we’re born with. There are so many small and large ways that you can help others, so why not make a conscious effort to perform an act of kindness or prosocial behavior the next time the opportunity presents itself.
