Summary of Results from Tests of the Hypothetical Framework

Of the 21 predictions made in the seven hypotheses, 12 were supported, eight results exhibited no effect, and one effect was in the opposite direction of prediction. The central theme, that evolutionary adaptations related to kin selection and reciprocal altruism play a significant role in helping intentions, was supported. The effect of expectancy, the construct relevant to reciprocal altruism, was especially strong. However, the intuitive prediction that kinship would have a direct positive impact on the psychological predictors of helping was not supported. Oneness was involved in kin selecting processes, but not through simple mediation. In the framework of the social psychological debate over the existence of altruism, the study supported the existence of a unique effect of empathic concern.

Although the altruism-egoism debate has been addressed by the data, one could make a philosophical objection to the egoist argument. One might argue that seeing the other as part of the self is by itself altruistic. The perceived overlap implies that the self and other share a common fate, so resources and other assistance may be shared to maximize outcomes for more than just the individual.

The effects of respondent gender and target gender.

Respondent gender made a significant difference in the amount of sadness, aversive arousal, and empathy experienced, replicating previous research (e.g., Trobst, Collins, & Embree, 1994). Females experienced a greater degree of these psychological states as well as a higher degree of involvement with the scenario. Because levels of empathy had a significant impact on helping, females exhibited a stronger empathy-mediated pathway to helping than males. However, there was also a significant direct effect of respondent gender on helping, whereby males were more likely to help. Thus, the combination of these two pathways result in no overall main effect of gender on the likelihood of helping (See Figure 7).

There was a direct effect of the gender of the target: female targets were more likely to be helped. This effect was small however (d = .12), and only explained half a percent of the variance in the likelihood of helping. The direct effect of the respondent’s gender on the likelihood of helping was three times as strong as this effect (d = .37). The risky rescue scenario may reflect the traditionally male role of rescuer and traditionally female role of valuable asset to be saved and protected. The results are compatible with both evolutionary and social constructivist explanations of gender differences, however the evolutionary position has been supported by previous literature (e.g., Buss, 1998; Fisher, 1992; Kruger, In Press a; Low, 1979; Malamuth & Heilmann, 1998; Miller, 1998; Pool, 1994; Ridley, 1994; Silverman & Phillips, 1998; Wiederman & Allgeier, 1992).

Parsimonious Model Integrating the Proximate and Ultimate Influences for Helping

This study advances the theoretical framework for predicting risky helping behaviors. The integrated model of proximate and ultimate influences can be seen in Figure 7. Variance in the likelihood of helping was accounted for by reciprocity (58%), oneness (13%), empathic concern (11%), kinship (4%), gender of the respondent (3%), and gender of the target (0.5%). In addition to the established effects of oneness and empathic concern on helping, factors reflecting adaptations acquired through evolutionary processes were significantly influential. Kinship proved to have a complex relationship to oneness, the only psychological predictor of altruism found to be influenced by kinship. Rather than mediating the effect of kinship, as was originally proposed, kinship moderated the effect of oneness such that a high level of oneness would result in an even greater chance of helping sibling targets than friend targets. It is clear that the influence of reciprocal altruism cannot be ignored by social psychologist studying human interactions. The findings in this experiment suggest a great potential for research programs examining how perceived reciprocity plays a role in human thought and behavior.

The Integration of Social Psychology and Evolutionary Theory

As the evolutionary approach to psychology has become more prominent, a greater number of social psychologists have seen the benefits of aligning knowledge of human thought and behavior with the most powerful explanatory theory in the life sciences. This study provided an evolutionary approach to assistance in critical situations, examining the influences of kin selection and reciprocity along with the currently touted psychological predictors of helping intentions. These influences were examined in the research paradigm of studies currently found in the altruism literature. The results of this study indicate that social psychological theory regarding prosocial and altruistic behavior can greatly benefit from integration with evolutionary theory.

An evolutionary framework acknowledges the possibility of both altruistic and egoistic motivations from the perspective of the individual. From an evolutionary perspective, subjective experiences underlying an adaptation can vary, as long as they reliably lead to the adaptive behaviors. This allows for the possibility of behaviors that are altruistic in terms of costs and benefits to the donor, although “egoistic” in terms of the benefit to the genes shared by the individuals. When making attributions for kin selecting behaviors, very few individuals would be likely to give an explanation with a genetic basis. The most likely response may be “because he’s my brother [etc.].” This is all that is required in kin selection, the underlying motive or subjective experience of the individual donor is less important than the consequences of their actions. This study found support for the hypothesis that psychologically altruistic and egoistic pathways operated simultaneously, and that each makes a unique contribution to helping intentions.

This research project generates a nexus between the literatures on altruism and inclusive fitness. The results make a significant contribution to the altruism literature, with the establishment of influences rooted in human evolutionary history. More constructs were included in the empirical framework of predicting helping intentions than in previous studies. Items that more clearly measure the constructs of interest and have fewer confounds were used in this analysis, and several items have exhibited greater convergent and divergent validity than those used in previous models. The additional items used to measure constructs also served to enhance reliability. Methodological improvements enhanced the measurement and analysis of these constructs. The analyses included modeling of current social psychological theories of altruism to an extent not previously attempted, as well as modeling the influences of kin selection and reciprocal altruism. The inclusion of evolutionary factors with the current psychological predictions increased the overall amount of variance accounted for in intentions for performing a risky helping behavior, explaining 86% of the variance. The results of this project encourage further exploration of reciprocity and kin selection in social relations and promote the understanding of human thought and behavior in the context of functional adaptations to challenges in our evolutionary history.