The other day, I was waiting in the checkout line at Meijer. The customer two spots in front of me did not have enough cash to pay for his items, and the lady behind him covered his costs-A simple act of kindness. There was nothing in it for the lady; she had nothing to gain by helping out the man, but it made all the difference in the world for him. The selfless kindness exhibited by normal people on a day-to-day basis are what make the world a better place. This is the beauty of altruism.

The science and psychology behind altruism is complex, and to begin, I want to address certain areas of social psychology and group dynamics. Social groups are integral to who we are; our identities are found in the social roles we occupy and the social scripts we execute. Our beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors are determined by the way our group thinks and by our desire to fit in with them. In this way, group polarization can lead to dangerous in-group/out-group biases, social stereotypes, prejudice, and even discrimination. Throughout the entire Social Psychology unit in my AP Psychology class, I read about horrible event after horrible event, explained by group and social psychology. From groupthink to the murder of Kitty Genovese, I wondered how on earth pure, good qualities in humans could ever exist.

Then I got to the section on altruism and cooperation.

In 1954, a group of 11 young boys were invited to a camp called Robber's Cave, located in Oklahoma. These boys did not know each other initially, but they bonded through typical camp games during the course of the week. They were quick to become friends, and even called themselves the "Rattlers." However, they started to notice that there was a second group of 11 boys at the same camp; these boys were quite similar to them in the way that they had come as strangers, bonded over camp, and now were close friends. They called themselves the "Eagles." Each group had a distaste for the other, and they began to complain to the camp counselors about the "other" group. The camp counselors, who were actually research psychologists, were delighted. They constructed a series of competitions between the two groups, and in no time, the groups fueled their mild dislike into burning hatred. This came in the form of verbal aggression, fistfights, and even damaging the other group's cabin.

Just as all hope seemed to be lost--the boys were ready to go Lord of the Flies on each other--the camp counselors switched things up. Rather than encouraging competitive games, the counselors took these same two groups and gave them new tasks. These tasks required cooperation between the two groups: pushing a stalled food truck to their camp, building tents with incomplete sets of equipment, and moving a log deemed dangerous to the camp. The two groups, the Rattlers and the Eagles, formed intergroup bonds so strong that they practically merged into one collective group. These boys, who had so vehemently hated each other, became closer friends than one could ever imagine. All it had taken was a series of tasks that required them to work together.

The flexibility of group dynamics is what gives hope to psychologists. Two opposing groups could become friends just as easily as they could go to war with each other. It's about opening your mind to new possibilities and new alliances--even new friendships, dare I say. If the Robber's Cave boys could do it, why can't we? Why can't different racial groups? Why can't different religious groups? Why can't different countries? While parts of social psychology reveal the ominous dangers of human group dynamics, it also gives a sliver of hope into the innate goodness of people. We could all learn a little something from these 12-year-old boys, after all.