Marla has revised her will to ensure that upon her death,all of her functioning organs (corneas,liver,kidneys,heart,and so on)will be used to help transplant patients.She's told no one about her actions and expects nothing in return.This is an example of a(n)_______ behaviour.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Marla's behaviour of donating her organs to help transplant patients without any expectation of receiving anything in return is an example of altruistic behaviour. Altruism is when an individual engages in behaviour that benefits others without any selfish motive or expectation of reward. Marla's behaviour is not normative or dissonant as there is no societal or internal conflict in her decision to donate her organs. It could be argued to be self-sacrificing, but as she is not sacrificing herself in the literal sense and is choosing to help others with her functioning organs, altruistic is a more appropriate term. It is not necessarily evolutionarily adaptive as it may not directly benefit her survival or reproductive success.

Marla Has Revised Her Will to Ensure That Upon Her