Explaining altruistic behavior may require expanding the bargaining framework. In particular, accommodating altruism may require greater emphasis on bargaining under normative rather than actual conditions. Fleshing out the account of resource-rational bargaining under normative conditions raises important questions for future research.

BackgroundAlzheimer’s is a progressive disorder of the brain that gradually affects memory, personality, behaviour, identity, and interpersonal relationships, particularly among older adults. Alice Munro’s novella “The Bear Came Over the Mountain” offers a compelling literary framework for exploring these impacts through narrative gerontology, a lens that emphasizes storytelling’s role in shaping identity and relational bonds during ageing and illness.MethodThis study applies narrative gerontology to analyze Munro’s depiction of Alzheimer’s, focusing on the experiences of Fiona and Grant. Through detailed textual analysis, it examines the gerontological concept of “we-narrative” (shared relational identity) to understand how identity, memory loss, and relational dynamics evolve.ResultsMunro portrays Alzheimer’s as both a medical condition and a social experience, fragmenting Fiona’s sense of self and reshaping the couple’s shared identity. Fiona’s fading memories unravel her narrative, diminishing her autonomy, while Grant’s shift from husband to caregiver redefines their relationship. The novella’s disjointed structure reflects the cognitive chaos of Alzheimer’s, deepening its emotional impact. The gerontological “we-narrative,” representing shared relational identity, reveals the enduring strength of their bond, as Grant’s selfless actions highlight a transformed expression of love.DiscussionDementia narrative features how caregivers’ identity gradually forms through the lived experience of supporting a loved one with cognitive decline. These findings align with narrative gerontology’s view that stories help individuals and caregivers navigate identity and loss. Munro’s work challenges stereotypes about ageing, emphasizing the emotional complexity of caregiving and the resilience of human connections.ConclusionMunro’s novella powerfully illustrates Alzheimer’s multifaceted effects, using narrative to explore identity, care, and relational adaptation in the context of ageing and illness.

Health and well-being after spousal loss among older men and women.

ABSTRACT Moral disengagement has traditionally been conceptualized as an antecedent of behavior, yet emerging perspectives suggest these constructs may be mutually reinforcing. This three-wave longitudinal study examined the bidirectional associations between moral disengagement and online altruistic behavior among Chinese college students (N = 651; 55.1% male; Mage = 20.13 years) over a one-year period with six-month intervals. Cross-lagged panel modeling revealed significant bidirectional effects: moral disengagement negatively predicted subsequent online altruistic behavior, and online altruistic behavior negatively predicted subsequent moral disengagement. These findings extend the predominantly tested moral disengagement-to-behavior pathway by providing empirical support for an additional behavior-to-moral disengagement pathway, consistent with dynamic systems theory. Multi-group structural equation modeling further demonstrated gender invariance in these bidirectional pathways. The results suggest that moral disengagement and online altruistic behavior are reciprocally associated over time, contributing to a more complete understanding of the moral disengagement—behavior link and informing the design of holistic interventions.

Recent research has tried to determine whether and under which conditions domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) engage in prosocial and potentially altruistic behaviour. A common paradigm used to test this is the so-called prosocial choice test. This is a task in which the animal can choose to operate an apparatus based on the outcome. For example, this could involve delivering food to themselves, to another individual, to both, or to neither. The aim of the current study was to investigate dogs' collaborative tendencies with humans, with the use of a novel prosocial choice test paradigm. This paradigm was designed to take into account the fact that predators may have a more natural tendency to pull vertically rather than horizontally. Our paradigm is based on pulleys that are operated by the dogs, an action which dogs mastered without extensive training. All dogs (N = 16) participated in three experimental conditions (selfish-, prosocial- and altruistic condition) and two control conditions (no-reward- and partner-absent control). We further tested to what extent the between subjects' familiarity with the human partner (owner vs. stranger) mattered to the dogs. The dogs were more likely to operate the apparatus when they received a reward (selfish- and prosocial condition) than when they did not (altruistic- and no-reward condition). In addition, the absence of a partner, owner or stranger only marginally affected the dogs' tendency to pull. Based on our findings, we cannot conclude that dogs make altruistic or prosocial choices; rather, they appear motivated by selfish interests. We discuss the possibility that even small procedural changes can have large implications on the behaviour of the dogs during the tests.

We study a simple SIS epidemic model accounting for human behavior. Individuals can decide at each instant of time whether or not they wear a face mask. Mask wearing decreases susceptibility to and/or transmission of the pathogen. We consider a situation in which individuals are unaware of their health status (infected or not), but they can perceive the prevalence of infection at the population level. This assumption fits situations in which most infected individuals are asymptomatic. Individual decision dynamics depends both on prevalence, as a proxy for the risk of being infected or infecting others, and on the fraction of the population complying to mask-wearing, which people can observe in their everyday life. Specifically, human behavior is assumed to be driven by imitation dynamics. When the epidemic does not naturally die out, the model has three types of endemic equilibria: no-compliance, partial-compliance, and full-compliance. Only one of these equilibria can be stable at a time. We assume that the efficacy of mask-wearing is positively correlated to its cost at the individual level. Increasing mask efficacy and therefore its individual cost can make the system switch from full-compliance to partial-compliance. This way, increasing mask efficacy may increase the prevalence of infection at equilibrium. In other words, prevalence is minimized for intermediate mask efficacy and cost. This is because, when mask-wearing is too effective and therefore costly, part of the population free-rides on the effort of others and drops mask, resulting in increased prevalence. Altogether, our results show that the interplay between epidemiology and human behavior may lead to counter-intuitive but nevertheless intelligible outcomes, which should be anticipated when designing public health policies.

Public altruistic protective behavior is pivotal in public health emergencies, yet integrated evidence on how multidimensional risk communication shapes it is limited. Grounded in the protective action decision model (PADM) and risk communication theory, this study aims to construct a multidimensional communication strategy impact model encompassing information sources, communication content, narrative style, and communication media, with risk perception introduced as a mediating variable and trust in authoritative information sources as a moderating variable, to systematically examine how these factors affect public altruistic protective behavior. Taking the pandemic as a typical public health emergency scenario, a questionnaire survey of 1,417 respondents across 11 Chinese provinces revealed that (1) all dimensions of risk communication exert significant positive association with altruistic protective behavior, (2) risk perception mediates the relationship between risk communication and altruistic behavior, and (3) trust in authoritative sources negatively moderates the path from information sources to risk perception, displaying a "high-trust attenuation effect." This study provides theoretical support for more precise governmental messaging and altruistic mobilization.

Humans routinely evaluate the romantic relationships of others, a capacity that carries adaptive value for social learning, mate assessment, and coalition management. The present study examined how two cooperative norms, fairness and altruism, shape third party judgements of perceived relationship longevity, and whether these judgements vary according to relationship context and observer sex. Using an observer based experimental design, undergraduate participants viewed a short video of a couple engaged in a resource allocation task, framed as being in either a short term or long-term relationship. One partner behaved either fairly by dividing resources equally or altruistically by giving a greater share to the partner. Participants then rated how likely they believed the relationship was to last. Results revealed a significant three-way interaction between cooperative behavior, relationship length, and participant sex. Fair behavior was associated with greater perceived longevity in short term relationships, whereas altruistic behavior was associated with greater perceived longevity in long term relationships, particularly among female observers. These findings indicate that cooperative behaviors are interpreted in context sensitive ways, and that the capacity to infer relationship stability from cooperative cues may serve evolutionarily relevant functions for observers.

Do pigs have altruistic behaviour based on cognitive empathy?

ABSTRACT During the pandemic, the mental health industry saw a surge in cases. Due to the movement restrictions, these demands had to be fulfilled by online counsellors. Hence, online mental health organisations saw a massive surge in queries and concerns. Current research inadequately addresses the personal and professional challenges faced by online counsellors in India during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study bridges the gap by interviewing 25 Indian online counsellors working in mental health organisations. The results suggested that online counsellors demonstrate altruistic behaviour. They felt a sense of purpose to help others even while going through their own traumatic events. These counsellors revealed their efforts towards dynamic capacity building, and shared their sense of a re-emergence of the mental health industry.

Prosocial risk-taking is defined as engagement in altruistic behaviors that may have personal costs. Emerging research indicates that testosterone-a gonadal steroid hormone-is linked to behaviors aimed at promoting one's social status. In line with these findings, we hypothesized that testosterone levels would be associated positively with prosocial risk-taking. Additionally, according to the dual-hormone hypothesis, this relationship may be moderated by cortisol. To examine these hypotheses, we administered an adapted version of the probabilistic gambling task, which included a prosocial condition. In the original task, participants were the beneficiaries of their choices; under the prosocial condition, the benefits were directed to charitable organizations. Our results revealed that, consistent with previous findings, the endogenous testosterone level was associated positively with risk-taking for personal gain. Notably, we also observed an association between the endogenous testosterone level and prosocial risk-taking. These relationships were not moderated by cortisol, meaning that the dual-hormone hypothesis was not supported. Instead, elevated cortisol independently suppressed prosocial risk-taking. Collectively, these results demonstrate that basal testosterone and cortisol levels play different roles in the modulation of prosocial risk-taking behavior.

The emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in managerial decision-making has introduced new complexities, particularly for managers who must balance technological capabilities with ethical responsibilities. The Bhagavad Gita, one of India’s most revered ancient scriptures, offers profound philosophical insights that can guide ethical conduct in contemporary organisational contexts. Since AI is a human-created tool intended to enhance efficiency and support societal well-being, integrating the principles of the Bhagavad Gita into AI-driven managerial ethics may help ensure that decisions remain human-centric and morally sound. Such an approach can also reinforce employees’ sense of duty, accountability, and alignment with organisational goals. This paper adopts a qualitative research perspective to explore how the ethical teachings of the Bhagavad Gita can transform the design and implementation of AI systems, thereby fostering a more humane and ethically grounded workplace. Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become central to managerial decision-making, yet challenges related to ethical alignment, bias, and human accountability persist. This paper proposes a Dharmic ethical framework for AI in management, inspired by the philosophical teachings of the Bhagavad Gita. Drawing on concepts such as dharma (duty), nishkama karma (selfless action), viveka (discernment), and yoga-buddhi (disciplined intellect), the study reinterprets these principles as guiding pillars for responsible AI design and application. By bridging ancient Indian wisdom with contemporary AI ethics models, the paper argues that dharmic reasoning can help reframe managerial decisions toward accountability, fairness, and human-centred outcomes. The proposed framework emphasises transparent algorithmic logic, context-sensitive judgment, and morally informed decision pathways. This integrative approach offers a foundation for ethical AI governance in modern organisations, aligning technological efficiency with timeless ethical values.

Introduction: The altruistic behavior of left-behind children, a vulnerable population, plays a crucial role in their moral and social development, yet it remains understudied. This study investigated how group identity influences altruistic behavior in children, examining the moderating roles of left-behind status and self-esteem.

Abstract As large language model (LLM)-based agents increasingly engage with human society, how well do we understand their prosocial behaviors? We (1) investigate how LLM agents’ prosocial behaviors can be induced by different personas and benchmarked against human behaviors and (2) introduce a social science approach to evaluate LLM agents’ decision-making. We explored how different personas and experimental framings affect these AI agents’ altruistic behavior in dictator games and compared their behaviors within the same LLM family, across various families, and with human behaviors. The findings reveal that merely assigning a human-like identity to LLMs does not produce human-like behaviors. They suggest that LLM agents’ reasoning does not consistently exhibit textual markers of human decision-making in dictator games and that their alignment with human behavior varies substantially across model architectures and prompt formulations; even worse, such dependence does not follow a clear pattern. As society increasingly integrates machine intelligence, “prosocial AI” emerges as a promising and urgent research direction in philanthropic studies.

The social behaviors of microbes provide unique opportunities for testing social evolution theories. How can altruistic behaviors arise by natural selection is a central challenge in biology. Green-beard effect has been proposed as a basic mechanism for the evolution of altruistic behaviors. Yet, green-beard genes are generally thought to be rare. Here, we find that the Schizosaccharomyces pombe gsf2 gene mediates flocculation-like aggregation, and flocculation is triggered by acid stresses. gsf2-expressing cells preferentially adhere to each other. The expression of gsf2 is costly, but gsf2-expressing cells preferentially adhere to each other and protect each other from external stress. Gsf2 is highly variable in natural populations, likely contributing to different flocculation intensity. These findings suggest that gsf2 is a gradient green-beard gene that drives the altruism among gsf2 carriers. Moreover, we find that gsf2 is a new gene that originated very recently. Our results provide insights into the origin and evolution of green-beard genes.

ABSTRACT There is a significant literature base relating to behaviors, motivations, and the principles and practices of coaches in the elite performance context, and a growing body of work related to the dispositions and practice of community coaches. However, despite acknowledgments of similarities between performance and community coaching in terms of fundamental postulates (i.e. managing groups/developing relationships), there is a dearth of research specifically exploring any deeper interface between elite-level coaching and community coaching. Given this, the present research focuses on understanding the intersectionality between both contexts as observed and disclosed by coaches with significant experience in both environments (elite-community). Semi-structured interviews with nine such coaches were undertaken, with the findings outlining the inter-related aspects of elite and community coaching, including increasing participants’ altruistic behaviors, facilitating their personal agency, and notably how the coaches saw the development of their participants as a critical part of their own motivation and self-validation.

Rescuing infants under threat is a fundamental parental behavior in mammals. However, the behavioral expression and neural correlates of adversity-overcoming infant rescue in non-parental female individuals remain poorly understood. In this study, we first established a novel pup rescue paradigm with scalable adversity, in which mothers and virgin female mice have to cross a water pool of varying depths (0, 3, or 20 mm) to retrieve pups into the nest. We unexpectedly found that virgin females were less averse to water and retrieved pups faster than mothers. Next, we implemented an additional hurdle by trapping pups into a tube, so that female mice had to cross the pool and open the tubes to rescue pups. The rescuer virgin females in this “trapped pup” rescue task showed increased neuronal activity in the anterior cingulate cortex, lateral septum, anterior commissural nucleus, basolateral amygdala, and dorsal raphe nucleus, compared with non-rescuers. The c-Fos+ cell densities in these regions showed significant negative correlations with the latencies to rescue behaviors suggesting their positive impact on rescue. Given that the virgin females do not have genetic relations to the rescuee pups, our findings provide a basis for further analyses of adversity-overcoming altruistic behavior and its neural correlates.

The concept of karma occupies a central position in the philosophical and ethical teachings of the Bhagavadgītā. This study explores the deeper meaning of karma as presented in the text, moving beyond the common understanding of action merely as cause and effect. In the Gītā, karma is closely connected with duty (dharma), moral responsibility, and spiritual growth. The teaching emphasizes that individuals must perform their prescribed duties with sincerity and dedication while remaining detached from the fruits of their actions. Such an attitude, often described as niṣkāmakarma (selfless action), becomes a path to inner freedom and spiritual realization. This inquiry examines how the Gītā harmonizes action, knowledge, and devotion within the framework of karma. It also analyzes the philosophical significance of acting without attachment and how this principle guides ethical decision-making and personal discipline. By situating karma within the broader spiritual vision of the Gītā, the study highlights its relevance not only for religious practice but also for moral life and human responsibility. Ultimately, the concept of karma in the Bhagavadgītā offers a profound framework for understanding action, intention, and liberation in human life.

This study aims to explore the impact of altruistic leadership on voice behavior and evaluate the mediating role of trust in the leader, considering the significance of voice behavior as a driver of innovation and organizational performance improvement. This study focuses on the impact of altruistic leadership on voice behavior through the mediation of trust in the leader among civil servants (ASN) in Indragiri Hilir Regency. To examine the causal relationship between variables, a quantitative approach with a causal design was used. The population consists of active civil servants, with a sample of 152 respondents selected using purposive sampling to include relevant elements. The main instrument was a questionnaire that measured respondents' perceptions of the variables of altruistic leadership, trust in the leader, and voice behavior. It was found that altruistic leadership positively and significantly influences both voice behavior and trust in the leader, with trust in the leader also positively influencing voice behavior. The key finding is that trust in the leader fully mediates the relationship between altruistic leadership and voice behavior, indicating that a leader's authentic altruistic behavior can only enhance employees' willingness to speak up when it successfully establishes a solid foundation of trust, acting as a psychological buffer against potential risks. The implications of these findings emphasize the urgency for organizations to develop altruism-based leadership as a foundational strategy to build trust, ultimately supporting a participatory and innovative culture. Keywords: Altruistic Leadership, Public Services, Innovation

Background: The current "move fast and break things" approach to technology and innovation is proving to be a significant threat to humanity, especially when artificial intelligence (AI) is considered to be a civilization-altering technology. In the absence of a robust ethical foundation, AI could potentially worsen the current sustainability crises and hinder the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The current state of AI ethics, where sustainability is considered a secondary principle, points to a critical need to develop foundational and value-based approaches. Objective: This article aims to bridge the current gap between the technological advancement of artificial intelligence and sustainability wisdom. It aims to develop a new and unique ethical framework for sustainable artificial intelligence development based on the philosophical concepts of the Bhagavad Gita. Methods: This article uses a conceptual synthesis to apply three of the fundamental concepts of the Bhagavad Gita to the artificial intelligence development process: Dharma (Cosmic Duty) to redefine artificial intelligence's purpose; Nishkama Karma (selfless action) to discipline artificial intelligence development; and the three gunas of Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas to evaluate artificial intelligence's impact. Analysis: The synthesis creates a pathway to a new form of "Sattvic AI" – technology that promotes balance and regeneration. It offers a set of tools to support its implementation, including a Dharma Statement to inform purpose, Nishkama Development Protocols to ensure ethical development, and a Guna Impact Assessment (GIA) to measure success in relation to the SDGs. Conclusion: The principles of the Bhagavad Gita offer a rich and profound philosophy upon which to base a transformation in the use of AI from a force of exploitation to one of world welfare (Lokasamgraha). The proposed pathway offers policymakers and developers a tangible means to create an AI that not only does not hinder, but actually supports, sustainable development. Novelty: The paper offers the first application of Bhagavad Gita philosophy to create a structured and operational pathway to support the development of ethical and sustainable AI.