An evolutionary and close-relationship model of helping

Abstract

Our research examined whether relationship factors account for the positive association between genetic relatedness and willingness to help. College students’ (31 male and 46 female) willingness to help family members was measured using hypothetical dilemmas involving life-or-death and everyday-favor situations. Relationship factors were measured using a questionnaire. As expected, emotional closeness and obligation mediated the association between genetic relatedness and willingness to help. Furthermore, as expected, propinquity, similarity, and frequency and amount of interaction mediated the association between genetic relatedness and emotional closeness. Type of situation moderated the association between genetic relatedness and willingness to help, although not entirely as expected. This research suggests that relationship factors account for a substantial proportion of the association between genetic relatedness and helping.