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Psychologists have long been interested in exactly why and when we help other people.
There has also been a tremendous amount of interest in the reasons why we sometimesdon’thelp others.
Imagine that you are walking into a large department store.
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At the entrance is a bell ringer asking for donations to a charitable organization.
As a result, you might feel more inspired to stop and donate your own change.
Ambiguous situations can also make it difficult to determine if help is truly needed.
Since no one else was taking action, people assumed that there must not be an emergency.
How can you apply this to your own life?
This might explain why some people are more willing to give money to the homeless while others are not.
Feeling Good
Feeling good about ourselves can contribute to prosocial behaviors.
This is often referred to as the “feel good, do good” effect.
Published 2015 Feb 20. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00039
