Pro-social behaviour is very similar to _________.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Altruism
Option (1) Altruism — Correct. Helping those in need is called helping or pro-social behaviour, and pro-social behaviour is very similar to ‘altruism’, which means doing something for or thinking about the welfare of others without any self-interest (Latin ‘alter’, other, the opposite of ‘ego’, self).
Option (2) Prejudice — Incorrect. Prejudices are attitudes towards a particular group, usually negative. They work against helping others rather than resembling it.
Option (3) Empathy — Incorrect. Empathy is the ability to understand the plight of another person and feel like that person. It is a feeling that may lead to helping, not the helping behaviour itself.
Option (4) Sympathy — Incorrect. In sympathy one has compassion and pity towards the suffering of another but cannot feel like the other person. Showing sympathy is one example of pro-social behaviour; it is pro-social behaviour as a whole that is compared to altruism.
Note: Pro-social behaviour and its likeness to altruism were there in the chapter ‘Attitude and Social Cognition’ of the pre-rationalised NCERT, which NTA followed in 2023, and are not there in the NCERT book (2025-26). This question has been picked from the pre-rationalised NCERT.
NCERT (2025-26): “Therapeutic Relationship … Empathy is different from sympathy and intellectual understanding of another person’s situation. In sympathy, one has compassion and pity towards the suffering of another but is not able to feel like the other person. … empathy is present when one is able to understand the plight of another person, and feel like the other person. It means understanding things from the other person’s perspective, i.e. putting oneself in the other person’s shoes.…” “Prejudice and Discrimination Prejudices are examples of attitudes towards a particular group. They are usually negative, and in many cases, may be based on stereotypes (the cognitive component) about the specific group.…” NCERT (Pre-rationalised): “Pro-Social Behaviour … Throughout the world, doing good to others and being helpful is described as a virtue. All religions teach us that we should help those who are in need. This behaviour is called helping or pro-social behaviour. Pro-social behaviour is very similar to ‘altruism’, which means doing something for or thinking about the welfare of others without any self-interest (in Latin ‘alter’ means ‘other’, the opposite of ‘ego’ which means ‘self’). Some common examples of pro-social behaviour are sharing things, cooperating with others, helping during natural calamities, showing sympathy, doing favours to others, and making charitable donations.…” |