4 - Connectedness and Pro-Social/Pro-Environmental Behavior

Summary

Evidence, from experimental work in behavioral/social psychology and from real-world examples of the effect of connectedness on charitable giving, is discussed that supports the relational theory of collective action. The earliest work in psychology shows how witnessing pain experienced by another leads to the self participating in this experience as well. Empathy, both emotional and cognitive, has been shown to be a pathway that links connectedness to other-regarding behavior. Countless examples of sefless giving are found in real life, where charities strive to strengthen bonds between givers and recipients, where fair trade organizations work to make the working conditions in farms, and the farmers themselves, more real to the consumer, and nature conservation organizations find ways to make protected species not just objects of collective action but living, feeling individuals.