Friday, October 19, 2007

Week 14 discussion

Hey everybody,

I found a couple of things interesting this week. The first was the question raised 'are any helping acts purely altruistic?' My opinion is probably not. I think theres always some degree of self-gain motive in any behavior. But really, if the helper gets something out of helping then isn't that a better scenario? Everyone benefits!! Who needs pure altruism!

The second thing I found interesting was that people are more likely to help attractive others. The reason I found this interesting is because in an earlier lecture it was said that attractive people are more likely to be percieved as superior to others on many traits but not honesty!! I thought this would result in people being less likely to help 'attractive people'.

Any opinions welcome,

Cheers mike!

6 comments:

Carla said...

Hi Mike,

I totally agree that the concept of true altruism is probably not as pure as one would like to think.

However I think that some people would still be more likely to help people who are attracted to them because they want to be associated with them. Using reverse logic, i think that people would be less likely to help a homeless person on the side of a street because they may not wish to be associated with them. Image is really important to some people and in some cases they will go to great lengths to protect it. This is really judgemental I know but I know it to be true of so many people.

I definately agree with you to some degree though. Perhaps the more wholesome people are less reliant on looks and more connected to people who who display traits such as honesty.

Anyway, I hope this makes sense!
Good luck with your second blog!

Jaimee said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jaimee said...

Hi guys,

I have to disagree, I believe that some genuinely are altruistic and I believe I know some people like this although I'll confess that I'm not one of them..

In regards to the comment about attractive people being most likely to receive help when in need, I recall earlier in the semester we learned that attractive people are associated with positive characteristics like intelligence, wealth and happiness. Going back to the altruism thing, maybe some people go to the aid of attractive people because they believe they may benefit from doing so in some way whether it be financially, personally (through forming a relationship with the person) or by receiving some social recognition for the act...

Just a thought!

Jaimee said...

Hi guys,
I'm gonna disagree, I believe that some people genuinely are altruistic and I think I may no a few (although I'll confess that I am not one of them).

With regards to the comment you made about attractive people being most likely to receive help, I remember we learned earlier in the semester that attractive people are likely to be associated with fortune, intelligence and happiness despite being believed to be dishonest etc. Going back to the altruistic thing, maybe people who go to the aid of attractive people do so because they believe they will gain in some way by doing so perhaps financially, personally or receive some kind of social recognition.

My Blog said...

A lot of individual differences occur within any behavior. I believe that true altruism is possible but is not a common occurance. Quite often the person helping will often feel good about it and as such their self confidence gets a boost. Exceptions are available such as Mother Therese whom I believe to have dedicated her life to help others without any preconceived notion of gain.

My Blog said...

A lot of individual differences occur within any behavior. I believe that true altruism is possible but is not a common occurance. Quite often the person helping will often feel good about it and as such their self confidence gets a boost. Exceptions are available such as Mother Therese whom I believe to have dedicated her life to help others without any preconceived notion of gain.