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Related Concept Videos

Altruism01:03

Altruism

Altruistic behaviors are “unselfish” behaviors—those that help another individual at the expense of the individual carrying out the behavior. Despite the negative consequences for the altruistic animal, these behaviors are thought to have evolved for several reasons.
Egoism and Altruism01:55

Egoism and Altruism

Voluntary behavior with the intent to help other people is called prosocial behavior. Why do people help other people? Is personal benefit such as feeling good about oneself the only reason people help one another?
Purposive Learning01:22

Purposive Learning

E. C. Tolman emphasized the purposiveness of behavior — the idea that much of our behavior is goal-directed. For instance, employees who aim for a promotion work diligently to meet their targets. Tolman argued that when classical conditioning and operant conditioning occur, the organism acquires certain expectations. In classical conditioning, a child might fear a dog because they expect it to bite. In operant conditioning, a person might consistently work overtime because they expect a bonus...
Inclusive Fitness00:57

Inclusive Fitness

Most altruistic behavior—in which one animal helps another at a cost to themselves—occurs between relatives. Scientists think these altruistic behaviors evolved because they increase the inclusive fitness of the animal providing help.
Observational Learning01:12

Observational Learning

Albert Bandura's observational learning, also known as imitation or modeling, occurs when a person observes and imitates another's behavior. It is a quicker process than operant conditioning. A well-known example is the Bobo doll study, where children who saw an adult acting aggressively towards the doll were more likely to act aggressively when left alone, compared to those who observed a nonaggressive adult. Many psychologists view observational learning as a form of latent learning because...
Cognitive Learning01:21

Cognitive Learning

Cognitive learning is based on purposive behavior, incidental learning, and insight learning.
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device (ALDM) Test Systems
08:42

Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device (ALDM) Test Systems

Published on: May 5, 2015

Altruistic learning.

Ben Seymour1, Wako Yoshida, Ray Dolan

  • 1Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London London, UK. bj.seymour@gmail.com

Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience
|October 15, 2009
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Altruism arises from how distinct human decision-making systems learn rewards through reinforcement and observational learning. Evolutionary pressure on learning systems, not just outcomes, allows altruism to evolve despite free-riders.

Keywords:
altruismevolutionfree-rider problemneuroeconomicsreinforcement learningstrong reciprocitytheory of mind

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 19, 2026

Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device (ALDM) Test Systems
08:42

Assessment of Social Cognition in Non-human Primates Using a Network of Computerized Automated Learning Device (ALDM) Test Systems

Published on: May 5, 2015

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Science
  • Neuroscience
  • Behavioral Economics

Background:

  • The origin of altruism is a long-standing puzzle in human behavior.
  • True altruism is often debated, with some viewing it as a miscalculation of selfish actions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To propose a neurobiologically informed model for the emergence of altruism.
  • To explain how distinct learning systems contribute to altruistic behavior.

Main Methods:

  • Utilizing insights from neurobiological accounts of decision-making.
  • Analyzing reinforcement learning in game-theoretic social interactions (habituation).
  • Examining observational learning (imitative and inference-based).

Main Results:

  • Altruistic behavior emerges from reinforcement and observational learning systems.
  • This emergence is driven by computational efficiency and optimal inference under uncertainty.
  • Evolutionary pressure on 'how' learning occurs, not 'what' is learned, facilitates altruism.

Conclusions:

  • Altruism is a direct consequence of specific learning mechanisms in human decision-making.
  • The evolution of learning systems provides a framework for understanding altruism's persistence.
  • This model addresses the challenge posed by free-riders in the evolution of cooperation.