Does the helper gene really exist?

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Where does helpfulness actually come from? Is the ambition to help others in the genes or is the willingness to help instilled? © pixabay.com, Anemone123 (CC0 Public Domain)

With their eyes rolled to the sky, the benefactors and committed people of this world are all too often (and often with a disparaging undertone) described as natural helpers. However, the question that many interested people are asking is whether the born helper can also be discovered scientifically, or to put it another way: Is there a helper gene that makes some people more helpful than others? And if so, what does that mean for today’s professional world? Wouldn’t those who carry the helper gene then have to take up helping professions, such as in childcare or as a nurse?

Numerous studies revolve around people’s willingness to help

Anyone who follows the research results of Martin Nowak, a biomathematician who was born in Austria and does research at Harvard University, could come to the conclusion that the helper gene really does exist. Nowak was able to demonstrate a so-called phenotype. Researchers conducting research in Switzerland and Austria want to have discovered the evolutionary roots of helpful people, and David Rand, who works at Yale University, investigated the connection between selfishness, the ability to cooperate and a competitive orientation. The result: those who were cooperative while playing would also be particularly helpful in the real world. So far. So logical.

From the ranks of brain researchers Another line of reasoning emerges, following the idea that morality and altruistic action are guided by a deep inner vanity. According to the researchers, every good deed triggers a chain reaction in the mind that could lead to a feeling of happiness. Something similar could be proven with the consumption of music, with sex, but also with the enjoyment of chocolate. Doing something good lifts the spirits just as much as enjoying it. And it is precisely this fact that could have a positive effect on living together, involvement in clubs or the world of work.

Is helpfulness learned or is altruism in the genes?

Anyone who helps a colleague even though their own project deadline is approaching is acting just as altruistically as a daughter who is caring for her mother who has dementia and accepts being insulted in the process. Darwin, who formulated the theory of evolution, seems passé with this approach. Instead, looking at evolution, it could be shown that the pure egoism that could lead to striving for more is about to leave. Or does he only focus on a few, few?

Darwin and Richard Dawkins reject the idea of ​​the helpful human being and rather explain the human species as survival machines that are programmed for self-preservation. Instead of a helper gene, Dawkins speaks of the “selfish gene”, to which he even dedicated a book. If one were to follow this line of argument, the conclusion would be that morality and helpfulness are merely acquired and helpful behavior is not a dictatorship of the genes. However, the empathetic commitment to others often puts the thought of one’s own future on the back burner, which also means that those who devote their lives exclusively to others run the risk of not bringing young people into the world who are just as ticking.

A look at the animal offspring shows that social behavior is learned in a group

It took more than just genetics, if any, to figure out where people got the ingrained trait of helpfulness. According to research, have one community rearing in the group a positive influence on the willingness to help. In studies with primates, the researchers were able to discover that raising the offspring in a group had a positive effect on their caring behavior. They were able to observe that young animals (like children between the ages of four and seven) were primarily concerned about others, for example when it came to food. An observation of children as young as 18 months showed that they quickly put their own toys aside to help an adult open the closet door. However, the little ones were only willing to help when the adults were standing in front of the cupboard with their hands full.

The conclusion: social behavior is less rooted in the genes, but rather due to social behavior during growing up. In addition, you can already see with small children how quickly and logically they understand a situation that a third party cannot handle alone. Incidentally, the assumption that a reward led to the courageous intervention of the one-and-a-half-year-old was wrong. Looking back, those who received a reward were often less helpful in dealing with others than those who did not receive a reward. Without the conscious recognition that helpfulness is necessary, helpful action cannot develop. And since this knowledge can only be shown in a group, the cohesion in the group is the decisive factor when it comes to whether a person is helpful or not.

Conclusion: Those who are willing to help often act in secret

The fact that the willingness to help grows over time is not the problem of today’s society. Instead, researchers attribute it to the fact that people are increasingly suppressing their desires. The distrust in one’s own generosity sinks, the concern about being taken advantage of, the development is getting worse. If a do-gooder is then publicly ridiculed, this fuels a development that makes people believe that helpfulness and good nature are more likely to be ridiculed. On the other hand, only very few recognize the strength of a helpful person who takes care of the well-being of others with intelligence, composure and empathy. Anyone who resists social pressures to live out their willingness to help privately and professionally often finds themselves in caring jobs or as a member of a club. And the bottom line is that we need more of these courageous people who decide to live out their innate and nurtured willingness to help.

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