Human relationship in psychology looks at the nature and causes of

relationships between people, including the origins of prosocial behaviour,

attraction, friendship, and violence. To some extent, human relationships
can be influenced by three levels: biological, cognitive and sociocultural.
This essay focus on prosocial behaviour or the helping act in the society
including theory for altruism.

In terms of biological level, Kin Selection Theory of altruism explains

human relationships. It is an evolutionary theory popularised by Hamilton
in 1964 and is based on the idea that individuals are more likely to
sacrifice themselves for relatives than non-relatives because they
contribute to the survival of their genes. The theory is supported by
Simmons et al. in 1977. The study aimed to investigate whether close
relatives are more likely to be kidney donors. Researchers interviewed 39
kidney donors before the day of surgery and after the surgery. As a result,
86% of parents agreed to donate kidney while only 47% of the siblings,
who could be donors, did. Also, the sibling who are the same sex and
whose ages are closer to the recipients were more likely to agree than the
other siblings were. At the same time, in addition, researchers asked
potential recipients to rate their emotional closeness to all possible donors
before the donor is chosen. As a result, they felt very close to 63% of the
potential donors but only 42% of the potential non-donors. Accordingly, in
conclusion, people are more likely to donate kidney when they feel closer
to the recipients. Also, considering the fact that parents were more likely
to donate their kidney than siblings were, the survival of genes were
naturally prior cause of altruism; thus, the theory is supported. However,
it does not fully explain altruism because it exists when it is not related to
the relatives only. How can altruism be explained when it occurred on the
street between non-relatives?

Empathy-Altruism Theory proposed by Batson in 1981 covers the

limitations of Kin Selection Theory. It explains altruism in terms of
cognitive level, positing that some helpful actions are truly altruistic
because they are motivated by the genuine desire to increase anothers
welfare. Before conducting the theory above Batson carried out a
supporting experiment Batson et al. in 1981. The study aimed to
investigate participants motives to help when they had the opportunity to
escape. The participants were female university students in an
introductory psychology class and they were tested individually. Before
the experiment starts, each of them read a story about a student named
Elaine; each story was manipulated for students to have either empathy
or distress. Then they watched Elaine over close-circuit TV, which was in
fact a recorded video, where Elaine received several electric shocks and
showed the painful expression. First half were told to take her place or fill
out the questionnaire and leave (easy escape situation) and another were
told to take her place or watch her suffering (difficult escape situation). As
a result, most participants who had empathic concern agreed to replace
Elaine regardless of the escape difficulties. In contrast, most participants
with personal distress withdrew in the easy escape condition, but few of
them offered to replace Elaine. In conclusion, the empathy altruism theory
is, to some extent, true when people feel high empathy or personal
distress when facing difficulty to escape. Therefore, considering two
theories regarding to altruism, human relationships are influenced by both
biological and cognitive factors. Now, to what extent do sociocultural
factors influence human relationships?

Miller et al. (1990) explains how prosocial behaviors are influenced by

different cultures. The study aimed to prove that the cultural norms and
moral values influence the perception of social responsibility. The
researchers interviewed 400 individuals, both adults and children, on 3
situations. The first one involved parents obligation to help their child, the
second one involved friends obligation to help a friend, and the last one
involved peoples obligation to help a stranger. The situations were either
life threatening, moderately serious, or a minor threat. The participants in
this cross-cultural study were North Americans and Hindu Indians. As a
result, Hindu Indians tended to see it as a moral duty to help others in all
situations. Their view of social responsibility was broader and more duty
based compared to the American participants. On the other hand, North
American participants tended to view social responsibility and helping as
personal choice. They tended to help if the danger is moderate or minor,
or if they know or like the person in need. It means if the situation is
danger, or if they do not know the person, they are not willing to help.
Therefore, to a great extent, different cultures play role in way of human
relationships.

In conclusion, as researches showed, biological, cognitive and

sociocultural factors influence human relationships to some extent;
humans motive for the survival of their own genes, empathy level, and
cultural differences influence prosocial behaviour.