My Experience and Understanding of Prosocial Behavior

Prosocial behaviors, sometimes called Altruistic behaviors are actions people exhibit that do not immediately server their own self-interests but rather the interests of others or a collective. I exhibited a prosocial behavior this weekend when I did the dishes for my family and my dad saw me and decided to join me.

Being a college student I don’t really do dishes or make my own food but fleeing the hurricane gave me the opportunity to stay with my family and do some dishes. Now, doing the dishes really doesn’t benefit me, someone else in the household could do them and I could do something else that I enjoy much more. So when I decided to start loading the dishwasher on my own accord the other day, I was exhibiting a prosocial behavior. I didn’t get an immediate benefit from doing chores but I wanted to help my family out. Shortly after I began working, my dad joined in and we worked together to clear the table and get all the cups, plates and silverware ready to be washed. This action although not learned, -my dad already knew how to do the dishes- could be considered modeling of a prosocial behavior. My dad saw me doing the dishes and decided to do the same thing. It’s very hard to tell why exactly my dad helped me with the dishes. I would have to ask him very detailed questions or be able to discern his thoughts. It could be that he perceived more personal benefit from doing the dishes, it could be that he was already planning to do the dishes after dinner and I just started before him. It is also very likely he saw me doing something positive and helpful for our family and wanted to join in. In reality, it was most likely a combination of all of the aforementioned reasons. My dad doesn’t see me often let alone see me doing chores so the occurrence was rare and arguably worth some attention. He likely started to help out without even realizing it, he wanted to keep the good deeds going. This phenomenon of doing good deeds after someone else is related to prosocial modeling and is called the reciprocity norm. People who do nice things for others tend to believe that the nice thing will happen to them later or the person they helped will go on to help others themselves, paying it forward. I began doing the dishes unconsciously believing that maybe if I’m caught doing this good deed someone else might see me and help me out later, and I was right. I was helped for helping out.

Prosocial behaviors are so common in today’s society we often don’t even realize they exist. People want good things to happen and to do good things, without even realizing it. Good deeds can be as significant as giving to charity or as small as doing chores around the house, but no matter what someone chooses to do, they are likely to see their neighbor do the same thing.

Works Cited

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