Cooperation and Trust

• Cooperation and trust are the two central variables in prosocial theory. Both of these are interrelated as variables, but are both necessary and sufficient to create a healthy social organization. Trust is a variable that both produces cooperation and derives from it. Members can rely on each other and work together to accomplish the explicit task of the organization in question. These virtues also manifest themselves in feelings of reciprocity and the interdependence among organization members that are the very recipe for solidarity and civic health.
  
  

Motives

• Prosocial theory holds that the above variables, all central in developing an effective and fulfilling organization, derive from different motivations and catalysts. The basic dichotomy here is between rule following and strong cultural norms promoting solidarity. Rule following is a more or less mechanical loyalty to the rules of an organization in particular, and following laws in social life in general. More important, solidarity as a virtue comes from factors such as cultural norms or upbringing that create citizens motivated to give of themselves to others as a matter of course.
  
  

Significance

• Prosocial theory is a view of social cohesion on both a micro- and macro-level. This then goes to the heart of a healthy social life, the very distinction between an atomistic or an organic society: a society based on competition or a society based on cooperation. Prosocial theory stresses the importance of the latter. At the very least, this approach holds that organizations of any significance at all must contain the variables mentioned above in order to function effectively, as well as fulfill the social and emotional needs of its members.
  
  

Considerations

• One of the most central developmental variables in prosocial theory is childhood experience. Research suggests that there are children who assist others in the classroom or other environments, and others that are aggressive and intolerant. Many writers, such as prosocial scholar Karen van der Zee, hold that the latter base their actions on ingrained prejudices or a fixation on their own personal interest rather than relying on the evidence of the objective situation. Therefore, it is surmised that prosocial behavior relies heavily on the nature of the upbringing of children and their cultural environment.
  
  

Benefits

• Prosocial views assist organizations in completing tasks and fulfilling the needs of its members within society. It is taken for granted that individuals need healthy, strong and functional organizations in their lives to lead a fulfilling existence. An organization can accomplish tasks with far greater efficiency and completeness than the individual. Therefore, most writers in this field hold that social organizations that promote solidarity and engage in useful activities are essential for the promotion not only of social health, but also of mental and civic health. Pro-social mentalities promote social trust, reciprocity and interdependence in society that habituate citizens into civic action to improve their lives and the lives of others.