The Altruistic Urge

Stephanie D. Preston explores how and why we developed a surprisingly powerful drive to help the vulnerable. She argues that the neural and psychological mechanisms that evolved to safeguard offspring also motivate people to save strangers in need of immediate aid.

Stephanie D. Preston is professor of psychology and director of the Ecological Neuroscience Lab at the University of Michigan. She is coeditor of The Interdisciplinary Science of Consumption (2014).

Garet Lahvis, neuroscientist and author:
This book does a terrific job of further dispelling the myth that human empathic experience and altruistic behavior, and their neurological substrates, are distinct from those of other animals. It also aptly weaves together neuroanatomy, psychology, and evolutionary theory, a necessary context that’s difficult for many in the scientific and lay communities to understand.

Dario Maestripieri, University of Chicago and author of Macachiavellian Intelligence and Games Primates Play:
The Altruistic Urge is a must-read for anyone interested in the evolution of human behavior. Those who have a pessimistic view of human nature will be surprised to learn that people often go out of their way to rescue their fellow human beings from dangerous situations at great risk to themselves. Stephanie Preston explains the science behind this extreme ‘altruistic response’ with new ideas, compelling facts, and an engaging writing style.

Carolyn Zahn-Waxler, Honorary Fellow in the Department of Psychology and the Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin:
An innovative, breakthrough body of work. Preston provides compelling evidence that our concern for others is biologically rooted in caregiving processes present throughout the animal kingdom. Insightful parallels drawn between human heroism and rodent caregiving speak to common underlying mechanisms. Written in an engaging style, the work is marked both by scientific rigor and creativity. Preston’s compassion for all beings shines through.

Frans de Waal, author of Different: Gender Through the Eyes of a Primatologist:
Stephanie Preston knows human and animal empathy as no other. By demonstrating that helping behavior is baked into the mammalian brain, her eye-opening and well-written book takes the puzzle out of the 'puzzle of altruism.'