When psychologist Abigail Marsh was a teenager, a stranger took great risks to save her life,

sending her on a quest to understand altruism.

She studied psychopaths and discovered that their amygdala, the part of the brain that recognizes
fear, is smaller than average and underreactive to other people’s distress
The amygdala in extreme altruists is more reactive and larger than average. Altruists are better at
recognizing distress in others, which evokes their compassion
Highly altruistic people are as compassionate toward strangers as they are toward family and
friends. They don’t view themselves as the center of a social circle, so there are no inner or outer
rings of importance. Everyone equally deserves compassion
Altruism is as fundamental to human behavior as cruelty is, if not more. Some people are
naturally more altruistic, but nearly all can broaden their circle of compassion.

One night in the late 1990s, a teenage driver swerved to avoid a dog on the freeway. Moments
later, she found herself in the fast lane facing the wrong direction. Then the car engine died. A
man pulled over and ran across four lanes of traffic to save her. The young driver, Abigail
Marsh, never learned her rescuer’s name, but his selfless act shaped her life. Marsh became a
psychologist devoted to understanding altruism
“A lot of people, and this includes everybody from philosophers and economists to ordinary
people,  believe that human nature is fundamentally selfish
Many people believe that humans are selfish. Yet altruists defy this belief by voluntarily
assuming personal risk to help others. Are the brains of highly altruistic people special? Marsh
and her colleagues first explored this question by studying individuals who lacked the urge to
help others. The researchers imaged the brains of psychopaths – people who exhibit uncaring,
sometimes violent behavior. Though the psychopaths weren’t generally impervious to others’
emotions, they had difficulty detecting fear and distress. The brain’s amygdala recognizes fear,
and in the psychopaths, the amygdala was smaller than average and underreactive. Next, Marsh’s
team tested the brains of people who’d donated a kidney to a stranger. These extreme altruists
were better at detecting people’s distress, perhaps because their amygdalas were more reactive to
fearful facial expressions and about 8% larger than average. These data suggest that altruism
falls on a continuum, with psychopaths on the low end and extreme altruists on the other
The ability to remove oneself from the center of the circle and expand the circle of
compassion outward to include even strangers is within reach for almost everyone.
Most humans are caring toward their inner circle of family and friends. Extreme altruists extend
this compassion to strangers. Though fewer than 2,000 Americans have donated kidneys to
strangers, these rare donors believe they are like everyone else Yet, unlike most people, extreme
altruists don’t view themselves as the center of a social circle. Thus, there can be no inner or
outer rings. Everyone equally deserves compassion. Globally, people and societies are becoming
more attuned to the suffering of others, reducing cruelty across many dimensions  Donating
blood or bone marrow is now common, whereas a century ago it would have been unthinkable.
Altruism seems to rise along with standards of living. As people become more comfortable, they
turn their focus outward. Paradoxically, as their increased altruism improves the world, they may
mistakenly view reality as worsening, perhaps because they are noticing more suffering .
Altruism is as fundamental to human behavior as cruelty is – if not more. Some people are
naturally more altruistic, but nearly all individuals can broaden their circle of compassion.

Abigail Marsh is an associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at Georgetown

University

What is the most fascinating about altruistic people is that they don't think that they do something
extraordinary or that they are special and more important than people who don't help others that much.
They think that their life and things or talents need to be shared with other people, moreover, it seems
like sharing talents and helping others is something usual and something that needs to be done. I agree
with the speaker that we all have potential and abilities to be altruistic and to help people around us , no
matter if they are our friends or family members or strangers and we should use every opportunity to be
kind and generous to people, because, all in all, we are all the same: with almost the same talents and
flaws, with the same fears and desires, and we should all help each other so that life and the world
becomes better more beautiful place
 "Altruism is a costly behaviour motivated by the desire to help people". It isn't said it is a desire,
if anything it is compulsive. And "a selfless act only to benefit the other",
When people have no difficulty in their own life, they will have the tendency to become more selfless.
Sometimes we care about others because maybe in future we will be in the same condition ... Human
beings at first belongs to animals who only care about survival, but maybe humanity really exits and i
am too passive about altruism
I think she easily surpasses the idea of egoistic motivations. I believe there could be a lot of reasons
(including unknown complex reasons) for someone to behave in an altruistic form but from an
egocentric motivation. For instance; many of us have been taught; to be a 'good human being' - which
we all want to be to feel good enough about ourselves - you have to help others when they're in danger.
I was thinking the same thing while listening to her. Some people have a superhero complex and tend
to do a lot of selfless acts even putting themselves in danger and being reckless. I would say that it is an
explanation to be considered. I also agree with a specific point of view she mentioned: the fact that the
well-being of the world is shifting the focus of some people towards these selfless acts. I would say that
it is something that can be explained by the Maslow's pyramid. People trying to reach the peak of their
fulfillment. Some of these people understand this fulfillment by doing these kind of selfless acts,
because in these acts they find their purpose and their self-actualization.
Altruism is the unselfish concern for other people—doing things simply out of a desire to help,
not because you feel obligated to out of duty, loyalty, or religious reasons. Everyday life is filled
with small acts of altruism, from holding the door for strangers to giving money to the homeless.
Altruism involves acting out of concern for the well-being of other people. In some cases, these acts of
altruism lead people to jeopardize their own health and well-being to help others. In many cases, these
behaviors are performed unselfishly and without any expectations of reward. Other instances, known as
reciprocal altruism, involve taking actions to help others with the expectation that they offer help in return

Why Altruism Exists

Evolution
Psychic Rewards
Environment
Social Norms
Incentives (Empathy , Helping relieve negative feelings,