Perceptions of Prosociality and Solidarity in Self and Others

Abstract

(From the chapter) We review three different perspectives on how people estimate the solidarity and prosociality of others and why most people think they are more prosocial than others. It is difficult to tell which theoretical perspective can really explain why people are systematically biased in their perceptions of others' prosociality. However, that most people think they are more ethical than others is a very robust finding of research in the past three decades. Social scientists should be aware that they personally may be prone to the same biases when they are formulating their theories about human solidarity. This may be especially true for rational choice theorists or economists, who sometimes assume that all people are basically selfish all the time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA )