Why do people help out other people?

Answer 1

In general, they help because they want to, see it as being nice, or they believe it is right.

Some people help people to be nice, like if some elderly person dropped their bag you'd likely help them out of good manners. Many believe they are supposed to be kind, nice, and generous. It's kinda the morals of life and what your parents are supposed to teach you when your growing up.

However, for a lot of people, the need to help comes from feeling insecure, wanting to feel needed or having a need to control. When you help others, particularly without them asking you are assuming that they want and need your help, that your way of doing something is better than theirs, and that they actually need you. So some help out of condescending feelings.

Then there are people who help others for purely selfish reasons and what they can get in return. They may pretend to be helping, but it is really a passive-aggressive or back-handed way to manipulate others into doing something for them.

If they help family members or close friends it's generally because they care. If it's anyone else, it's often to make themselves look good, get an ego boost, or out of fear of saying no.

Also, we evolved as social animals understanding about the notion of you scratch my back and Ill scratch yours, even literally, and safety in numbers and sticking together in family groups.