Welcome to From Insults To Respect.
As I write this, it is a few days before Christmas. The season finds me increasing my tips at restaurants. Somehow, in some vague kind of way, I kind of respect myself for doing so. I wonder why?
I’m not alone in increasing tip giving during the Christmas season. 
I know this first hand because during my Brooklyn College days I drove a taxi a couple of nights each week and during the holiday season people tipped me way better than usual. Is there something about this season that leads us to be more altruistic? There is a research study that suggests this is so.
Written by Mathias Ekström and published in the Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, the article, “Seasonal Altruism: How Christmas Shapes Unsolicited Charitable Giving,” provides evidence that the month of December is associated with a 14% increase in the probability people will make an unsolicited donation. In the study, half of the December increase in generosity persisted into January. Sadly, by February the increased rate of giving disappeared.
So, when Charles Dickens wrote, “I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year,” it appears most people fail to do so.
It is interesting that Ekström believed he was studying “altruism,” but what does that term really mean?
Definitional Issues Regarding the Meaning Of Altruism
In the psychological literature, there are basically two types of helping behaviors. The first is viewed as being activated by social expectations; the other—altruism—is viewed as being activated by self-expectations.
Social expectations are learned in the normal course of socialization. They are activated by explicit or subtle communications from others, or by one’s realization that one’s actions may be revealed to individuals from whom one hopes to earn respect. A crucial component of these social expectations is an implicit backing by social sanctions. Sanctions may be mild, remote, and even improbable.
Altruism, in contrast, is activated by self-expectations. Information about another’s need leads to the activation of internalized values or norms regardless of external reinforcement. Altruism is behavior that is intended solely to benefit others and not to gain material or social rewards.
In natural settings, altruism has been observed in human beings in settings such as disasters, and parents providing for their offspring. The helpers frequently report that they had made their altruistic decision solely based on a simple moral precept. Once the helper realized that someone required aid, and there was some obvious way help can be given, he or she promptly acted without deliberating alternatives.
Why Altruism Is Important
Altruistic behaviors help the human race thrive. The reciprocation of kind deeds help group members to get backup when needed.
It’s a wonderful thing that Christmas promotes altruism, even if it too often lasts only for a few weeks. Does it have to be that way? Here’s hoping we all find a way to honor Christmas throughout the entire upcoming new year.
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Some people will enjoy reading this blog by beginning with the first post and then moving forward to the next more recent one; then to the next one; and so on. This permits readers to catch up on some ideas that were presented earlier and to move through all of the ideas in a systematic fashion to develop their emotional intelligence. To begin at the very first post you can click HERE.
