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Altruism Among Kin vs. Non-kin: Effects of Cost of Help and Reciprocal Exchange

Altruism Among Kin vs. Non-kin: Effects of Cost of Help and Reciprocal Exchange. By: Esmeralda Arrizón-Palomera, Elena Rodriguez, and Alexa Tangalakis. Video Clip: Gorilla Saves Kid. Hamilton’s Kin Selection Theory (KST). Higher levels of altruism is associated with greater relatedness

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Altruism Among Kin vs. Non-kin: Effects of Cost of Help and Reciprocal Exchange

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  1. Altruism Among Kin vs. Non-kin: Effects of Cost of Help and Reciprocal Exchange By: Esmeralda Arrizón-Palomera, Elena Rodriguez, and Alexa Tangalakis

  2. Video Clip: Gorilla Saves Kid

  3. Hamilton’s Kin Selection Theory (KST) • Higher levels of altruism is associated with greater relatedness • Problems with KST • Unable to explain data on human altruism • Unrelated acquaintances receive less help than kin, but do receive some help • Certain categories of non-kin are exceptions to the general rule that humans tend to help kin more than nonkin • Friends often receive as much or even more help than kin

  4. Present Study & Purpose The study explored some of the ways in which the findings can be reconciled with KST. • Costs of Helping • Hypothesis 1: As the cost of helping increases, the share of help given to kin will increase, and the share given to nonkin will decrease. • Levels of Reciprocal Exchange: KST in tandem Triver’s Altruism Theory (RAT) • Hypothesis 2: The association between help given and help received will be larger for acquaintances than for friends, and larger for friends than for siblings or cousins.

  5. Method & Procedures • Participants • Materials • Recruitment: online • Received Credit for Participation • Completed a booklet of questionnaires titled “Understanding Behavior” • Procedure • one of eight conditions based on • sex of the target • the relationship • Word Meaning Task • had to choose which one of the synonyms was closest to the original word. • Social Relationships • demographic data • items related to altruism and were representative of three categories of help: low-cost, medium-cost, and high-cost help • Other Variables

  6. Results • Help Given as a Function of Relationship Category and Cost of Help • Hypothesis 1 Findings • Hypothesis 2 Findings

  7. Explanations, Limitations, and Conclusion Explanations • Emotional closeness is an evolved psychological disposition that helps to mediate the link between relatedness and altruism. • Communal Relationships • Exchange Relationships • Cultural Norms Limitations • Weakness in measurement strategy • Assessment of level of reciprocity • Comparison between actual helping and hypothetical helping Conclusion • The results constitute good support for an inclusive fitness approach to explain altruism among humans

  8. Critique: Weaknesses • Recruitment • Testing • Actual Helping vs. Hypothetical Helping

  9. Interesting Points • low-cost help, people helped friends more than siblings • Even though young adults report that they are emotionally closer to friends than to siblings, participants were more willing to provide high-cost help to siblings

  10. Test Questions: Multiple Choice 1. One of the ways in which this study attempts to reconcile the findings about human altruism with Kin Selection Theory is by considering: A. The proximity to the target individual B. Cultural norms C. Age difference D. Cost of Help 2. According to the article, the category of nonkin that is an exception to the rule that people help kin more than nonkin is: A. Acquaintances B. Friends C. Classmates D. Co-workers 3. The results indicate that ________ A. The degree of reciprocity among friends is higher than that among siblings or cousins. B. The degree of reciprocity among siblings is higher than that of friends. C. The degree of reciprocity among friends was no higher than that among. siblings or cousins. D. The degree of reciprocity among cousins was not higher than that of siblings.

  11. True or False 4. According to the article, Kin Selection Theory is able to explain all of the data on human altruism. A. True B. False 5. According to the article, greater relatedness is associated with higher levels of altruism. A. True B. False 6. According to Stewart-Williams, the cost-help finding is a product of cultural norms. A. True B. False

  12. Answer Key: 1. D-Cost of Help 2. B-Friends 3. C-The degree of reciprocity among friends was no higher than that among siblings or cousins. 4. B-False 5. A-True 6. B-False

  13. Reference Stewart-Williams, Steve (2007). Altruism among kin vs. nonkin: effects of cost of help and reciprocal exchange. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28, 193-198.

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