The field of prosociality is flourishing, yet researchers disagree about how to define prosocial behavior and often neglect defining it altogether. In this review, we provide an overview about the breadth of definitions of prosocial behavior and the related concept of altruism. Common to almost all definitions is an emphasis on the promotion of welfare in agents other than the actor. However, definitions of the two concepts differ in terms of whether they emphasize intentions and motives, costs and benefits, and the societal context. In order to improve on the conceptual ambiguity surrounding the study of prosociality, we urge researchers to provide definitions, to use operationalizations that match their definitions, and to acknowledge the diversity of prosocial behavior.

亲社会性领域正在蓬勃发展，但研究人员在如何定义亲社会行为方面存在分歧，并且常常完全忽视对其的定义。在这篇综述中，我们概述了亲社会行为的定义范围和利他主义的相关概念。几乎所有定义的共同点是强调促进行动者以外的代理人的福利。然而，这两个概念的定义在是否强调意图和动机、成本和收益以及社会背景方面有所不同。为了改善围绕亲社会性研究的概念模糊性，我们敦促研究人员提供定义，使用与其定义相匹配的操作化，并承认亲社会行为的多样性。