Question

According to your text, researchers who study altruism suggest that the perspective of "I'll help him because he can't do it himself" is characteristic of which age?

Answer 1

Some researchers suggest that altruism operates on empathy. Other researchers argue that altruism is a form of selfless helping that is not motivated by benefits or feeling good about oneself. There is a debate on whether pure altruism exists.

Step-by-step explanation:

Some researchers suggest that altruism operates on empathy. Empathy is the capacity to understand another person's perspective, to feel what they feel. An empathetic person makes an emotional connection with others and feels compelled to help (Batson, 1991). Other researchers argue that altruism is a form of selfless helping that is not motivated by benefits or feeling good about oneself. Certainly, after helping, people feel good about themselves, but some researchers argue that this is a consequence of altruism, not a cause. Other researchers argue that helping is always self-serving because our egos are involved, and we receive benefits from helping (Cialdini, Brown, Lewis, Luce, & Neuberg 1997). It is challenging to determine experimentally the true motivation for helping, whether it is largely self-serving (egoism) or selfless (altruism). Thus, a debate on whether pure altruism exists continues.