The proximate regulation of prosocial behaviour: towards a conceptual framework for comparative research

Kathrin S. Kopp*, Patricia Kanngiesser, Rahel K. Brügger, Moritz M. Daum, Anja Gampe, Moritz Köster, Carel P. van Schaik, Katja Liebal, Judith M. Burkart

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

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Abstract

Humans and many other animal species act in ways that benefit others. Such prosocial behaviour has been studied extensively across a range of disciplines over the last decades, but findings to date have led to conflicting conclusions about prosociality across and even within species. Here, we present a conceptual framework to study the proximate regulation of prosocial behaviour in humans, non-human primates and potentially other animals. We build on psychological definitions of prosociality and spell out three key features that need to be in place for behaviour to count as prosocial: benefitting others, intentionality, and voluntariness. We then apply this framework to review observational and experimental studies on sharing behaviour and targeted helping in human children and non-human primates. We show that behaviours that are usually subsumed under the same terminology (e.g. helping) can differ substantially across and within species and that some of them do not fulfil our criteria for prosociality. Our framework allows for precise mapping of prosocial behaviours when retrospectively evaluating studies and offers guidelines for future comparative work.

Original languageEnglish
Article number5
JournalAnimal Cognition
Volume27
Issue number1
Early online date2 Mar 2024
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2 Mar 2024

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Experimental and Cognitive Psychology

Keywords

  • Comparative research
  • Helping
  • Human children
  • Primates
  • Prosocial behaviour
  • Sharing
  • Animals
  • Social Behavior
  • Humans
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Altruism

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