ABSTRACT
At the most basic level, prosocial behavior is any action that benefits another. As appealing as it is for its simplicity, such a definition is deceptive because it overlooks important differences. These differences might provide us not only greater precision but also a better scientific understanding of prosociality. L. A. Penner, J. F. Dovidio, J. A. Piliavin, and D. A. Schroeder offered a multilevel approach to the endeavor, and it has been employed effectively by Dovidio et al. in their book The Social Psychology of Prosocial Behavior and by Schroeder and W. G. Graziano in the Oxford Handbook of Prosocial Behavior to provide a useful organizational framework for their reviews of the prosocial behavior field. Recent research in neuroscience has been aligned with evolutionary approaches, recognizing that structures and products of the nervous system that may be consequences of evolutionary forces are implicated in prosocial behaviors.
