068 - Section on Altruism, Morality and Social Solidarity Invited Session. Bridging Rationality and Altruism: Volunteering and Selfishness (co-sponsored with Section on Rationality and Society)

Session Submission Type: Invited Session

Description

These phenomena (volunteering, philanthropy, and heroism) can all be seen as forms of altruistic behavior that are difficult to explain from the perspective of a strict form of rational choice theory that uses an explicit selfishness assumption. The session with the altruism section then provides an opportunity to expel the common notion that rational choice is about denying altruistic motives and to find common ground or contrast alternative approaches to the explanation of altruistic behavior, and about how one can build theory to predict under what circumstances we should or should not observe these phenomena.

Sub Unit

• Section on Altruism, Morality and Social Solidarity

Session Organizer

• Steven Hitlin, University of Iowa

Presider

• Ko Kuwabara, INSEAD

Individual Presentations

• Generosity: A New Approach to Studies of Altruism - Patricia Snell Herzog, University of Arkansas

• Generosity as a Sign of Trustworthiness: Game Theoretic Models and Experimental Evidence - Wojtek Przepiorka, Utrecht University

• Contextual Effects of Religion on Volunteerism and Activism in the United States - Kraig Beyerlein, University of Notre Dame; John R. Hipp, University of California, Irvine