Why, during the Holocaust, did some ordinary people risk their lives and the lives of their families to help others--even total strangers--while others stood passively by? Samuel Oliner, a Holocaust survivor who has interviewed more than 700 European rescuers and nonrescuers, provides some surprising answers in this compelling work.

Motivation, Altruism, Personality and Social Psychology takes up the debate around altruism and the acceptance in society that self-interest is a healthy guiding principle in life, and argues that helping behaviour can lead to self-fulfilment and happiness and is beneficial to psychological health and society in general.

Are our efforts to help others ever driven solely by altruistic motivation, or is our ultimate goal always some form of self- benefit (egoistic motivation)? This volume reports the development of an empirically-testable theory of altruistic motivation and a series of experiments designed to test that theory. It sets the

Integrating significant advances in motivation science that have occurred over the last two decades, this volume thoroughly examines the ways in which motivation interacts with social, developmental, and emotional processes, as well as personality more generally. The Handbook comprises 39 clearly written chapters from leaders in the field. Cutting-edge theory

The concept of altruism, or disinterested concern for another's welfare, has been discussed by everyone from theologians to psychologists to biologists. In this cutting edge book, evolutionary, neurological, developmental, psychological, social, cultural, and religious aspects of altruistic behavior are examined by renowned researchers. The result is a collaborative and provocative