Description
Ordinary people can perform acts of astonishing selflessness sometimes even putting their lives on the line A pregnant woman saw a dorsal fin and blood in the waterand dove right in to pull her wounded husband to safety Remarkably some even leap into action to save complete strangers one New York man jumped onto the subway tracks to rescue a boy who had fallen into the path of an oncoming train Such behavior is not uniquely human Researchers have found that mother rodents are highly motivated to bring newborn pupsnot just their ownback to safety What do these stories have in common and what do they reveal about the instinct to protect others
In The Altruistic Urge Stephanie D Preston explores how and why we developed a surprisingly powerful drive to help the vulnerable She argues that the neural and psychological mechanisms that evolved to safeguard offspring also motivate people to save strangers in need of immediate aid Merging extensive interdisciplinary research that spans psychology neuroscience neurobiology and evolutionary biology Preston develops a groundbreaking model of altruistic responses Her theory accounts for extraordinary feats of bravery alltoocommon apathy and everything in betweenand it can also be deployed to craft more effective appeals to assist those in need
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