Is Self-Sacrificial Competitive Altruism Primarily a Male Activity?

This study explored the basis of self-sacrificial prosocial behavior in small groups. Seventy-eight undergraduates (39M, 39F) filled out a thirty-item personality scale and then participated in a “group problem-solving study” in which the monetary success of a three-person group depended upon one of...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Evolutionary psychology Jg. 10; H. 1; S. 50 - 65
Hauptverfasser: McAndrew, Francis T., Perilloux, Carin
Format: Journal Article
Sprache:Englisch
Veröffentlicht: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.01.2012
SAGE Publishing
Schlagworte:
Altruism
Biological Evolution
Competitive Behavior
Female
Gender Identity
Humans
Interpersonal Relations
Male
Masculinity
Original
Personality Assessment
Problem Solving - classification
Psychological Theory
Reward
Sex Characteristics
Students - psychology
Young Adult
challenge hypothesis
altruism
competitive altruism
sex differences
ISSN:1474-7049, 1474-7049
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:This study explored the basis of self-sacrificial prosocial behavior in small groups. Seventy-eight undergraduates (39M, 39F) filled out a thirty-item personality scale and then participated in a “group problem-solving study” in which the monetary success of a three-person group depended upon one of its members volunteering to endure pain (a cold stressor test) and inconvenience (being soaked in a dunk tank). There were 13 groups consisting of two females and one male, and 13 groups consisting of two males and one female. Across groups, the behavior of the altruist was judged to be more costly, challenging, and important and he/she was liked better, rewarded with more money, and preferred as a future experimental partner. Groups containing two males showed more evidence of competition to become altruists than groups containing two females, and personality traits were more effective predictors of altruistic behavior in males than in females. We conclude that competition between males and “showing off” are key factors in triggering self-sacrificial altruistic behavior.
Bibliographie:ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:1474-7049
1474-7049
DOI:10.1177/147470491201000107