Originally published in 1986, this book was an effort to integrate thinking and research concerning the role of emotion and cognition in altruistic behaviour. Prior to publication there was a vast body of research and theorizing concerning the development and maintenance of prosocial (including altruistic) behaviour. This book focusses primarily on a specific set of intrapsychic factors involved in prosocial responding, especially emotions and cognitions believed to play a major role in altruistic behaviour. In the final chapters these intrapsychic factors are also discussed in relation to a variety of other relevant factors including socialization and situational influences on altruism.

Examines the major aspects of giving and receiving help in interpersonal and intergroup relations This unique book extends the traditional emphasis on interpersonal help-giving in order to consider a wider spectrum of interpersonal and intergroup helping relations. Help giving is viewed as reflecting people’s care for others, while at the same time dependency on help and giving help imply lower and higher places on the social hierarchy, respectively. It studies the psychology of what goes into helping someone and integrates experimental work conducted in the social psychological laboratory with applied research from volunteer organizations, schools, and work and family environments. In addition to research on the giving of help, the book considers the recipient of help and reviews research and theory on people's readiness to seek and receive help. Unlike much of past research in this context that has been interested in the “generosity question” (i.e., whether or not people help others) the book considers how different kinds of assistance (i.e., autonomy and dependency-oriented help) shape helping interactions. It then goes beyond the analyses of the immediate helping interaction to consider the long-term consequences of giving and receiving help. Finally, the book addresses theory and research on intergroup helping relations. Social Psychology of Helping Relations: Solidarity and Hierarchy begins with a general introduction to the topic. It then offers a series of broad perspectives, covering the philosophical and psychological theory, evolution, and overview of social psychological research. Next, the book looks at the social psychology of helping relations, examining the parties involvedt, and the “why” behind their actions. The positives and negatives of giving and receiving assistance, and the links between status and interpersonal and intergroup helping relations are also covered. It considers how giving, seeking and receiving help maintains or challenges status relations between individuals and groups. The book finishes with a conclusion that wraps up the many lessons learned. Looks at solidarity and inequality in social interactions Examines why people are ready to give and receive help Studies the consequences of giving and receiving help Highlights important implications to different kinds of help beyond the dichotomy between giving/receiving help or not Addresses research and theory on interpersonal and intergroup helping relations The implications of helping relations for personal and social change Social Psychology of Helping Relations: Solidarity and Hierarchy is an ideal book for advanced students, researchers and individuals interested in social psychology, counselling, social work, Sociology, and Political Science.

This book explores the behavioral phenomenon that is intended to aid in the benefit of others, known as prosocial behavior. The author combines eight years of quantitative and qualitative research to explain and delineate the antecedents to prosocial leadership and align these findings into an understandable model for prosocial leadership development. This ground-breaking text is the first to combine the elements of prosocial followership, development and altruism as essential components to leadership. It further explores the behaviors, values, and ideas leading to the formation of prosocial leadership within individuals and organizations.

"In Moral Education for Social Justice, the authors move students beyond the adoption of the values of the dominant culture (what the authors refer to as becoming "nice" people), toward a position of personal and societal moral critique. The authors argue that the development of social and moral cognition does not occur in isolation. The authors take the relational development systems framework approach that views each component of human development as interacting with each other as well as with the surrounding environment"--

Human behavior and decision making is subject to social and motivational influences such as emotions, norms and self/other regarding preferences. The identification of the neural and psychological mechanisms underlying these factors is a central issue in psychology, behavioral economics and social neuroscience, with important clinical, social, and even political implications. However, despite a continuously growing interest from the scientific community, the processes underlying these factors, as well as their ontogenetic and phylogenetic development, have so far remained elusive. In this Research Topic we collect articles that provide challenging insights and stimulate a fruitful controversy on the question of “what determines social behavior”. Indeed, over the last decades, research has shown that introducing a social context to otherwise abstract tasks has diverse effects on social behavior. On the one hand, it may induce individuals to act irrationally, for instance to refuse money, but on the other hand it improves individuals’ reasoning, in that formerly difficult abstract problems can be easily solved. These lines of research led to distinct (although not necessarily mutually exclusive) models for socially-driven behavioral changes. For instance, a popular theoretical framework interprets human behavior as a result of a conflict between cognition and emotion, with the cognitive system promoting self-interested choices, and the emotional system (triggered by the social context) operating against them. Other theories favor social norms and deontic heuristics in biasing human reasoning and encouraging choices that are sometimes in conflict with one’s interest. Few studies attempted to disentangle between these (as well as other) models. As a consequence, although insightful results arise from specific domains/tasks, a comprehensive theoretical framework is still missing. Furthermore, studies employing neuroimaging techniques have begun to shed some light on the neural substrates involved in social behavior, implicating consistently (although not exclusively) portions of the limbic system, the insular and the prefrontal cortex. In this context, a challenge for present research lies not only in further mapping the brain structures implicated in social behavior, or in describing in detail the functional interaction between these structures, but in showing how the implicated networks relate to different theoretical models. This is Research Topic hosted by members of the Swiss National Center of Competence in Research “Affective Sciences – Emotions in Individual Behaviour and Social Processes”. We collected contributions from the international community which extended the current knowledge about the psychological and neural structures underlying social behavior and decision making. In particular, we encouraged submissions from investigators arising from different domains (psychology, behavioral economics, affective sciences, etc.) implementing different techniques (behavior, electrophysiology, neuroimaging, brain stimulations) on different populations (neurotypical adults, children, brain damaged or psychiatric patients, etc.). Animal studies are also included, as the data reported are of high comparative value. Finally, we also welcomed submissions of meta-analytical articles, mini-reviews and perspective papers which offer provocative and insightful interpretations of the recent literature in the field.

Widely regarded as the standard reference in the field, this handbook comprehensively examines all aspects of emotion and its role in human behavior. The editors and contributors are foremost authorities who describe major theories, findings, methods, and applications. The volume addresses the interface of emotional processes with biology, child development, social behavior, personality, cognition, and physical and mental health. Also presented are state-of-the-science perspectives on fear, anger, shame, disgust, positive emotions, sadness, and other distinct emotions. Illustrations include seven color plates.