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Outline and Evaluate two explanations of human altruism.
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Outline and Evaluate two explanations of human altruism. (24 marks) The first explanation of human altruism is the empathy altruism hypothesis carried out by Batson. He suggested that empathy involves feeling an emotional response that is consistent with another person's emotional state, and acting upon this feeling selflessly. He believe that witnessing someone in need will create empathetic concern for them therefore motivating the helper to attempt to alleviate the distress of the other person. Batson hypothesis suggests that some people are more empathetic than others and this is the reason why some people display altruism and others do not. Batson argues that the ability to take someone else's perspective depends on three different aspects: that the observer has had a similar experience, so have a deeper understanding of how the person in distress feels. The observer is attached to the victim for instance they are a family member or friend....
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