Altruism Elizabeth Dionne, Jeremiah Polk, LaQuita Miller, Militza Saroza, Shavon Ricketts PSY 400 October 9th, 2017 Stefanie Krasner Altruism and Social Exchange Social exchange relating to altruism can be difficult to put together. Altruism, which is the act of performing a service for someone without any expectation or rewards in return contrasts the theory of social exchange, which is when two parties mutually benefit by one party performing a service or task for the other (Fiske, 2014). In the article, Desperately Seeking a Kidney (Satel, Dec 16, 2007), Sally is struggling with the few people who have offered her a kidney and then backed out. These are obviously not examples of altruism as their reasoning for giving her a kidney were overridden by either their fears, lack of time or in one instance, a misguided bit of advice from a doctor. All three of these people intended to give unselfishly to Sally by donating a kidney, but in the end, were unable to do so because of different self-serving reasons. However, the fourth and final person to step forward did so without any sort of expectation of a mutual benefit because she was donating a kidney to Sally (Satel, Dec 16, 2007). Her motives appeared to be pure. She was not seeking any kind of social gain. Therefore, the social exchange theory does not apply in this situation because she would not benefit from donating her organ. Altruism Social Responsibility Social responsibility is clarified as individuals of all walks of life, circumstances are mostly responsible for their life and well-being. The best way to illustrate social responsibility is by incorporating it into our government, more specifically our U.S. President. The reason why this example is a great illustration is because it is a position of power and authority, which equals leadership and power. Individuals in these types of positions all over the world are looked upon and expected to help others that are beneath them because we as humans place these individuals there. Within this article that was published by The New York Times altruism was put on great display through the meaning of giving and not expecting anything in return. In this article, the meaning of self within their social environment was put on a great display. Sally was motivated in finding a donor regarding her situation, rather than just waiting for one. Humans are, above all, social. As with all primates, humans owe their success as a species in large measure to their ability to cooperate in finding solutions to the problems of everyday survival and reproduction. People can do that mainly because they can call upon the willing commitment of moderately large numbers of individuals (Barrett & Dunbar, 2012, p. 1). Reciprocity & Altruism As humans, people display a variety of pro-social behaviors. In the course of recent decades, a great effort has gone into developing and explaining the behavior of reciprocal altruism. Psychologists and so.

1. Altruism
Elizabeth Dionne, Jeremiah Polk, LaQuita Miller, Militza
Saroza, Shavon Ricketts
PSY 400
October 9th, 2017
Stefanie Krasner
Altruism and Social Exchange
Social exchange relating to altruism can be difficult to put
together. Altruism, which is the act of performing a service for
someone without any expectation or rewards in return contrasts
the theory of social exchange, which is when two parties
mutually benefit by one party performing a service or task for
the other (Fiske, 2014).
In the article, Desperately Seeking a Kidney (Satel, Dec 16,
2007), Sally is struggling with the few people who have offered
her a kidney and then backed out. These are obviously not
examples of altruism as their reasoning for giving her a kidney
were overridden by either their fears, lack of time or in one
instance, a misguided bit of advice from a doctor. All three of
these people intended to give unselfishly to Sally by donating a
kidney, but in the end, were unable to do so because of different
self-serving reasons. However, the fourth and final person to

2. step forward did so without any sort of expectation of a mutual
benefit because she was donating a kidney to Sally (Satel, Dec
16, 2007). Her motives appeared to be pure. She was not
seeking any kind of social gain. Therefore, the social exchange
theory does not apply in this situation because she would not
benefit from donating her organ.
Altruism Social Responsibility
Social responsibility is clarified as individuals of all walks of
life, circumstances are mostly responsible for their life and
well-being. The best way to illustrate social responsibility is by
incorporating it into our government, more specifically our U.S.
President. The reason why this example is a great illustration is
because it is a position of power and authority, which equals
leadership and power. Individuals in these types of positions
all over the world are looked upon and expected to help others
that are beneath them because we as humans place these
individuals there. Within this article that was published by The
New York Times altruism was put on great display through the
meaning of giving and not expecting anything in return. In this
article, the meaning of self within their social environment was
put on a great display. Sally was motivated in finding a donor
regarding her situation, rather than just waiting for one. Humans
are, above all, social. As with all primates, humans owe their
success as a species in large measure to their ability to
cooperate in finding solutions to the problems of everyday
survival and reproduction. People can do that mainly because
they can call upon the willing commitment of moderately large
numbers of individuals (Barrett & Dunbar, 2012, p. 1).
Reciprocity & Altruism
As humans, people display a variety of pro-social behaviors. In
the course of recent decades, a great effort has gone into
developing and explaining the behavior of reciprocal altruism.
Psychologists and sociologists view altruistic behavior as a
means of the reciprocity theory. Reciprocity and altruism go
hand in hand. According to Trivers (1971) as stated in Fiske
(2014) reciprocal altruism holds that if people help others who

3. help them, then the survival of both is more likely. The
principle of reciprocity holds that people believe that if they
give help, others will help them in return. According to Fiske
(2014) people practice the act of reciprocity for different
reasons. In indirect reciprocity, individuals feel the need to
help simply to develop an altruistic reputation, with no hidden
motive. Organ donation is crouched in the discourse of altruism.
Like the author in “Desperately Seeking a Kidney” there are
many people in the United States awaiting a kidney transplant.
Altruism has been the guiding principle for the donation of
kidneys in an ethical manner. Psychologists theorized that there
are a variety of reasons why individuals display pro-social
behaviors. In many cases, these behaviors are a result of
childhood and adolescent encouragement to share and help
others (Savulesco, 2014). Altruism and reciprocity are mutually
important for individual’s pro-social behaviors. Both should be
encouraged, but most importantly, is a balance between both,
and the understanding of how to use them effectively.

4. References
Barrett, L., & Dunbar, R. (2012). The Self and the Social World
. : .
Fiske, S.T., (2014) Social Beings: Core Motives in Social
Psychology (3rd ed.) Retrieved from: University of Phoenix
eBook Collection
Satal, Sally (December 16, 2007) Desperately Seeking a
Kidney. New York Times Magazine. Retrieved from:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/magazine/16kidney-
t.html?mcubz=3
Savulescu, J. (2014) Challenging accepted ethical beliefs.
Journal of Medical Ethics, 40 71-72
Published Online First: 21 Jan 2014. doi:
10.1136/medethics-2014-102013