14 DAY TRIAL // Investigators propose that part of the reason why we take altruistic actions is to minimize the physical effort we would have to make to coordinate our behaviors with others. This finding suggests a hidden, more practical agenda that makes us behave.
This type of motivation is oftentimes unconscious, say experts with the Pennsylvania State University (Penn State). The team was led by Dr. David Rosenbaum and PhD student Joseph Santamaria.
According to the two, this is the first time that two fields of research – altruism and motor control – are being considered as part of the same whole. A study such as this one has never been conducted before.
The team highlights that these conclusions are not meant to contradict the fact that people can behave nicely just for the sake of it. Rather, it reveals a hidden component of the decision-making progress that now even those making the calls knew was there.
“The way etiquette has been viewed by Emily Post – that you’re being proper by following social codes – is undoubtedly part of it,” says Rosenbaum, who is a professor of psychology at Penn State.
“Our insight is there is another contributor: the mental representation of other people’s physical effort,” the investigator goes on to say, quoted by PsychCentral.
“Substantial research in the field of motor control shows that people are good at estimating how much effort they and others expend. We realized that this concept could be extended to a shared-effort model of politeness,” he adds.
“Our insight is there is another contributor: the mental representation of other people’s physical effort,” Rosenbaum believes. Details of the new research have been accepted for publication in an upcoming issue of the esteemed journal Psychological Science.
According to Rosenbaum, the new discoveries should enable us to better appreciate when someone is being nice around us. This shared-effort model should enhance our appreciation of that person, and not subtract from it.
When a person is being nice to a stranger, the bottom line is that he or she reduces the amount of effort the other needs to put forth. “This small gesture is uplifting for society,” Rosenbaum says.