One interesting aspect of Social Psychology is the unselfish desire to help others, called altruism. Check out these two videos about altruism. The first is a TedTalk with Abigail Marsh, a psychologist who does brain research with altruistic behaviors (and uses psychopaths as a comparison group!). The second video is a PBS clip about an interesting intersection of economic and psychology research asking the question, Why do people give?
https://www.ted.com/talks/abigail_marsh_why_some_people_are_more_altruistic_than_others?language=en#t-387420 (Links to an external site.)
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/want-to-be-happy-giving-is-more-gratifying-than-receiving (Links to an external site.)
As you read and watch both videos, thinking about social psychology and altruism, consider any and/or all of these questions:
What is altruism?
What was some of the research that was hi-lighted in the PBS video? For example, how do children demonstrate altruistic behaviors? When do people report being happiest when showing altruistic behaviors?
For the TedTalk, why do we compare normal individuals to psychopaths to study altruism?
What brain evidence is there for altruistic behaviors?
What makes an extreme altruists different from other people, according to themselves and Marsh?
Is altruism in the world increasing or decreasing? Why?
Other thoughts?
How can you apply these concepts to your own life?
Write a two page reflection paper double-spaced reflecting on any or all of these issues.
Note: For this assignment, you are not required to use APA references, although you are encouraged to practice (this is low stakes and you wont be dinged for any errors you make).
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