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Ethics Biology: Are There Ethical Genomes?
Published in Howard Winet, Ethics for Bioengineering Scientists, 2021
Mozu was able to elicit acceptance by her fellow monkeys by providing them with grooming of obviously poor quality. The fact that poor grooming quality did not prevent acceptance by the hosts creates an enticing basis for interpreting host behavior in human terms. However, we interpret it, there is an acceptance process taking place that needs explaining. Each interaction in this example is a step in the formation of some kind of bond. Mozu’s behavior, over time, exceeds some reward threshold for the dominant females and as a result of their feedback to Mozu, a form of cooperation develops between the participants. It includes no apparent expectation on the part of the recipient for immediate repayment, or in the case of Mozu, mercy. In other words, one individual gives benefits to another—on a given occasion—without immediate reciprocal payback from the benefactor. This behavior is called “reciprocal altruism” and has the following characteristics:The exchanged acts, while beneficial to the recipient, are costly to the performer.There is a time lag between giving and receiving.Giving is contingent on receiving, even if the gift is not of high quality (de Waal 1997).
Therapeutic model
Published in Rebecca L. Haller, Karen L. Kennedy, Christine L. Capra, The Profession and Practice of Horticultural Therapy, 2019
A patient is more likely to restore balance successfully if he or she is in a healthy and reciprocal relationship or has experienced reciprocal altruism. The balance between self and society often takes place and is in part orchestrated by appropriately trained professionals. Within the realm of mental health intervention, this is usually an individual or a team of social workers, therapists, caseworkers, psychologists, or psychiatrists in any combination. The addition of a horticultural therapist to the treatment team adds an element that may seem less intimidating or clinical to the client. This team member may have interdisciplinary training in mental health as well as horticultural therapy, or he or she may apply horticultural therapy treatment in cooperation with others in the mental health profession. In horticultural therapy, plants are an essential part of the treatment dynamics.
People skills
Published in John Wattis, Stephen Curran, Elizabeth Cotton, Practical Management and Leadership for Doctors, 2019
John Wattis, Stephen Curran, Elizabeth Cotton
Human beings have very powerful hypocrisy detectors. If what is said does not match what is done, we usually spot this very quickly. The failure may be due to insincerity, poor management or uncontrollable external circumstances; but the dissonance will be noted and likely attributed to insincerity or incompetence, whatever the real reason. Again, this can be understood in evolutionary terms as one of the consequences and conditions of reciprocal altruism. This means that it is very important for any doctor in management to be prepared to deliver what they declare! Sometimes, a failure to deliver will be excused because colleagues understand that unpredictable external events beyond a manager’s control are responsible. Some coaches use the aphorism ‘under-promise, over-deliver’ which emphasises the importance of not undertaking to do something we do not subsequently achieve. This is particularly the case if you are dealing with an issue of conflict at work such as a case of bullying or victimisation. When something has gone wrong, it is important to both acknowledge that something has gone wrong and also to acknowledge what steps you are going to take to remedy them. People are very rarely satisfied with kind words and cheering up – when something has gone wrong, it is important to act.
The Selfishness Questionnaire: Egocentric, Adaptive, and Pathological Forms of Selfishness
Published in Journal of Personality Assessment, 2019
An important conceptual question consists of whether selfishness in general is simply the opposite of altruism. Past research suggests that altruism and selfishness are related but different concepts, as altruistic acts are not always selfless. For example, although individuals might engage in reciprocal altruism, this social reciprocity ultimately maximizes the genetic fitness of the giver and as such can be viewed as selfish (Dawkins, 2006). Altruistic acts can also be used to build an individual's reputation in his or her social community, an ultimately selfish strategy that has been noted in classic studies of psychopaths (Cleckley, 1976). Furthermore, even in the absence of an audience, giving to others has been argued to be motivated by a “warm glow” reward, a positive feeling associated with activation of the ventral striatum, a brain area associated with reward (Harbaugh, Mayr, & Burghart, 2007). These perspectives suggest that selfishness and altruism are not polar opposites. Although we expect a negative association between selfishness and altruism, we also anticipate that selfishness will relate to other measures characterized by low altruism (e.g., Machiavellianism, psychopathy) independent of its association with altruism, a test of incremental validity.