Development and Maintenance of Prosocial Behavior: International Perspectives on Positive Morality

by Ervin Staub (Editor)

This book was inspired by an intimate, stimulating, intellectually enrich­ ing conference that took place in Poland. However, the book is not a conference report. Rather, at the time of the conference, participants agreed that it would be worthwhile to create a volume representing the international state of knowledge in pro social behavior, and many of them agreed to write chapters. This volume is the outcome. The book contains chapters by outstanding researchers and scholars who have made substantial contributions to some aspect of scholarship about pro social behavior-helpfulness, generosity, kindness, coopera­ tion, or other behavior that benefits people. The book concerns itself with how prosocial behavior comes about and what influences contrib­ ute to or inhibit it; how prosocial behavior, or values and other personal characteristics that promote prosocial behavior, develop; how socializa­ tion, peer interaction, and other experiences contribute to development; and with the cognitive, emotional, and behavioral consequences of re­ ceiving help. Some chapters directly, and a number of them implicitly, concern themselves with applications of knowledge about prosocial be­ havior, particularly with the question of how cooperation and behavior that benefits other people can be promoted. The purpose of the book is. in part to show where the field stands and what knowledge we have accumulated, and in part to suggest fu­ ture directions and advance the field. It is a truly international book, with contributors from most countries where research on pro social be­ havior is being conducted.

511 pages, Hardcover

First published June 1, 1984

About the author

Dr. Ervin Staub is Emeritus Professor of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a Fellow of both the American Psychological Society and the American Psychological Association, where he served as President of the Society for the Study of Peace, Conflict and Violence. He received his Ph.D. from Stanford University in 1965, after which he taught at Harvard University until 1973. Since then, he has published and edited numerous books and articles focusing on morality, pro-social behavior, genocide, peace and violence. His book, The Roots of Evil , inspired a three part television series of the same name shown on BBC television in England, and the Discovery Channel in the US. He credits his assisted escape from the Nazis in his native Hungary at the age of 6 with having "inspired me to dedicate my life to figuring out how to get people to respond to those who need help."