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altruism

This shows Superman in a crowd of people.

·November 20, 2025·5 min read

Unexpected Superhero Cameos Make People Kinder

A new behavioral study demonstrates that sudden, unexpected events can significantly increase altruistic behavior in everyday environments. When a person dressed as Batman appeared on a Milan subway, passengers were nearly twice as likely to give up their seats to a pregnant woman compared to the normal routine condition.

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Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 13, 2025·6 min read

Why Sharing Good Deeds Feels Bad

New research shows that people often feel worse when telling others about their good deeds than when keeping them private or discussing personal achievements. Across five studies, participants predicted more shame and embarrassment when sharing altruistic acts, partly because they feared appearing motivated by social credit.

This shows a person giving food to another.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 28, 2025·4 min read

The Psychology Behind Why Some People Give More Than Others

A new analysis of over 90,000 participants shows that personality traits influence how people engage in volunteering and charitable giving. Researchers found that extraverts are more likely to volunteer, while agreeable individuals are more inclined to donate money.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 24, 2025·4 min read

Oxytocin Powers Altruistic Responses via Parallel Brain Circuits

A new study reveals that mice instinctively display rescue-like behaviors toward anesthetized peers, offering powerful evidence that prosociality may be hardwired in mammals. Researchers identified oxytocin as a key driver, activating two brain pathways to coordinate emotional and motor responses.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·November 26, 2024·5 min read

Feeling Beautiful Spurs Kindness and Generosity

A new study shows that enhancing one’s appearance, even virtually, increases prosocial behavior such as kindness and charitable giving. Participants who saw enhanced images of themselves were twice as likely to donate to charity compared to controls, suggesting that feeling attractive boosts social consciousness.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·June 27, 2024·3 min read

First Neandertal with Down Syndrome: Evidence of Altruistic Care in Prehistory

A new study documents the first case of Down syndrome in a Neandertal child named "Tina," found in Spain. Despite severe hearing loss and vertigo, Tina survived to at least 6 years old, indicating she received extensive care from her group. This discovery highlights the Neandertals' capacity for altruistic behavior.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·May 16, 2024·2 min read

Stress May Boost Helping Behavior When Witnessing Injustice

A new study finds that acute stress experienced while witnessing injustice can make people more likely to help victims rather than punish offenders. This shift in behavior is linked to increased activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a brain region involved in decision-making. The findings suggest that helping others may be a more intuitive response than punishing them, especially under stress.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·October 20, 2023·4 min read

Choosing Ignorance: 40% Shun Consequence Knowledge for Selfish Gains

New research unveiled that when faced with a choice, 40% of individuals opt to remain ignorant about how their decisions impact others, often leveraging this unawareness to act more selfishly. The researchers equates this behavior to consumers who turn a blind eye to the problematic origins of products they purchase.

Featured Neuroscience Open Neuroscience Articles Psychology

·April 19, 2023·4 min read

Mapping the Psyche of Extreme Altruists

While more altruistic people can be distinguished from typical adults by their unselfish traits and actions, they are generally not different in other ways. Altruistic people are no more agreeable or conscientious than other adults, nor do they report higher levels of empathy.

Featured Neuroscience Psychology

·April 3, 2023·4 min read

Left-Leaning People Are More Altruistic

Findings from a study of more than 46,000 people from 68 different countries reveal those who share more left-wing political views are more generous and altruistic than those who follow right-wing ideologies.