Question

A firewoman runs into a burning home to rescue a small child to whom she is unrelated. Which of the following behaviors is illustrated in this example?

a) Kin selection
b) Altruism
c) Reciprocal altruism
d) Inclusive fitness
e) Selfishness

Answer 1

The firewoman's act of running into a burning building to save an unrelated child is an example of altruism, which is a selfless behavior that benefits another individual without expectation of return.

Step-by-step explanation:

The behavior illustrated by the firewoman running into a burning home to rescue an unrelated child is an example of altruism. Altruistic behaviors involve actions that lower the individual's fitness but increase the fitness of another individual. These actions are typically selfless and are not done with the expectation of a return benefit from the individual they help. This differs from kin selection, which involves helping relatives to increase the genetic representation in the next generation, and reciprocal altruism, where the help provided is with an expectation of future benefit.