We are living in an age of selfishness. Many of us noticed an increase in selfish behavior during the early days of the pandemic. At the time, we may have written it off as a flash in the pan that would subside. But it hasn’t. From rudeness in grocery stores to doors closing in your face rather than being held open by a stranger, behavior at a macro level seems to have fundamentally changed. Even airline pilots are going viral for reminding passengers not to be “selfish and rude.”
Why is it that people seem to act so selfish these days? Self-centeredness has been studied for centuries by philosophers, psychologists, and everyday observers of human behavior, with times of crisis known to predispose us to increased selfish actions. And we’ve experienced a period of “permacrisis” in recent years.
Yet research shows we are wired for altruistic behavior and get significant gains from it. There is a healthy tension between selfishness and prosocial behavior (i.e. having a tendency toward generous behavior) that is crucial to understanding today’s social interactions, and conflict in general.
Indeed, people are hardwired for both self-interest and altruism. While a fight-or-flight innate response promotes looking out for oneself in life-saving circumstances, our success as humans depends on our evolved capacity to cooperate with others. This means that there are natural constraints and limits to selfish behavior. Continue here....
-- Talia Varley
