There are things we do every day without thinking about it. We buy food for the whole family. We hold the door open for someone. We make breakfast sandwiches for our children. Some of us play an instrument in an orchestra. Others give blood regularly.

All these activities can be grouped under one heading: We work together and help each other. In other words, our behavior benefits other people, and we often benefit in return. Sometimes, we gain nothing at all from our actions, such as when we give blood.

While it has long been clear that not only humans but also animals cooperate with each other, it has been thought that helping is uniquely human. Helping is a social behavior that does not benefit you but only your partner. There are several ways of helping: You can give your partner important information, you can share food, you can help him or her achieve a goal, and you can comfort him or her. For all that, you need two things: You need to understand what the problem is—what your partner needs and wants. And secondly, you, as the helper, need to be motivated to help (Bräuer, 2015).

Human children are born helpers. Psychologist Felix Warneken surprised the scientific world in 2006 with his studies on helpful infants. The children in Warneken's study were one and a half years old and could barely walk. Yet they willingly picked up a dropped pencil when an adult reached for it. Or they opened a cupboard door for him when he had his hands full.

And the........

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