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Altruism among Kin vs. NonKin : Effects of Cost of Help and Reciprocal Exchange. By Noelle Bringmann , Autumn Nailes , Melanie Simms & Megan Wilson.
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Altruism among Kin vs. NonKin: Effects of Cost of Help and Reciprocal Exchange By Noelle Bringmann, Autumn Nailes, Melanie Simms & Megan Wilson Stewart-Williams, S. (2007). Altruism Among Kin vs. Non-kin: Effects of Cost of Help and Reciprocal Exchange. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28(3), 193-198.
Levels of Altruism • Kin Altruism- we are more likely to help those we are genetically related too • But what about friends? • Explained by Reciprocal Altruism- the tendency to help non-kin based on a likelihood of return • More likely to accept extended periods of timeframe for return on investment- Lessening the importance of Reciprocal Altruism • The need for Reciprocal Altruism becomes stronger between acquaintances Stewart-Williams, S. (2007). Altruism Among Kin vs. Non-kin: Effects of Cost of Help and Reciprocal Exchange. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28(3), 193-198.
Hypothesis • 1- As the cost of helping increase, the share of help given to kin will increase and the share given to nonkin will decrease • 2- The association between help given and help received will be larger for acquaintances than for friends, but larger for friends than cousins or siblings • Assets likelihood of • low-cost: emotional support • Medium-cost: helping during crisis, illness, everyday living • High-cost: giving a kidney Stewart-Williams,S. (2007). Altruism Among Kin vs. Non-kin: Effects of Cost of Help and Reciprocal Exchange. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28(3), 193-198.
Results- Altruism • Siblings • Low > Med > High • Cousins • Low> Med • Acquaintances • High> Med> Low • Friends • Most help in Low- Cost • Med equal with siblings • High equal with cousins Stewart-Williams,S. (2007). Altruism Among Kin vs. Non-kin: Effects of Cost of Help and Reciprocal Exchange. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28(3), 193-198.
Results- Reciprocity • Higher among acquaintances then friends/siblings/cousins • Not higher among friends then cousins or siblings • Contrary to Hypothesis 2 Stewart-Williams,S. (2007). Altruism Among Kin vs. Non-kin: Effects of Cost of Help and Reciprocal Exchange. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28(3), 193-198.
Critical Review • Friends received a comparable amount of help to kin. • Although young adults state that they are emotionally closer to their friends than their siblings, they were more willing to give high-cost help to their siblings than they were to give to their friends. • A high level of reciprocity was found among kin, especially among siblings. Stewart-Williams,S. (2007). Altruism Among Kin vs. Non-kin: Effects of Cost of Help and Reciprocal Exchange. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28(3), 193-198.
Critical Review • The high cost item that assessed whether or not the participant would be willing to give a kidney. • The study compared actual helping to hypothetical helping. • The cost of help could be a result of cultural norms and not a result of kin selection theory or reciprocal altruism theory.
Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNJz-T5R9FA Stewart-Williams,S. (2007). Altruism Among Kin vs. Non-kin: Effects of Cost of Help and Reciprocal Exchange. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28(3), 193-198.
Discussion Questions • Who would donate their kidney to a sibling? • Cousin? • Friend? • Acquaintance? • Stranger? • How do you think we can explain the level of helping given to friends despite their lack of genetic similarity? How can proximity be used to explain it? Stewart-Williams,S. (2007). Altruism Among Kin vs. Non-kin: Effects of Cost of Help and Reciprocal Exchange. Evolution and Human Behavior, 28(3), 193-198.