The Evolutionary Urge to Help our Group

In small tribes, helping others is crucial for success. This urge extends to academic departments, where people prioritize resources for their own department. However, within departments, there may be divisions based on personal interests. This behavior stems from our evolutionary inclination to be altruistic towards our own group. We are more willing to sacrifice our time to help those in our group, such as writing a long letter of recommendation for a student we like.