is being a 'nice guy' actually considered pathological like autism or schizophrenia in a biological sense

Answer 1

I have an autistic child and a schizophrenic sibling and I can assure you neither is pathological. Don't throw words around when you don't know.

Answer 2

I agree with kacky!

Be very very careful with words like "pathological" or trying to use biology to label people. It's not only cruel, it is also scientifically groundless.

Other examples I've seen on YA are attempts to use biology to define "race" (when most biologists have long stopped using the term as it has no *biological* significance), or to marginalize homosexuals as evolutionarily "wrong."

I even saw someone try to argue that rape was biologically advantageous.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=ArMeyV2RnWqre.8GC.bm6Vnty6IX?qid=20070609125545AAbdzwM&show=7#profile-info-86fjMfbTaa
(They were not saying that this was a good thing, but it was still a total misapplication of biological principles.)

Your example of the "nice guy" should be a strong indication of how this kind of thinking leads to absurdities. Humans are complex, social beings. Being a "nice guy" has survival advantages in a troop environment (troop-mates like you and look out for you, a troop with high "nice guy" gene frequency will have more survivors than another troop, females trust you as a better bet for long-term mating (producing more babies with their own "nice guy" genes), etc.

Answer 3

No. Being an altruist has an evolutionary value, because altruism often increases the chance of survival of the individual's kin and offspring.

In many animals the most agressive and dominant males are the ones that will attract the most females, and females are less likely to mate with "nice guys".

To a certain extent this is true in humans; women are often attracted to dominant males. However, in humans being a nice guy also has reproductive value, because in humans father usually take part in raising the children and nice guys usually make better companions and fathers.

Studies on women show that single women will usually be more attracted to men they think of as good companions (i.e. often "nice guys"), while women who are already in relationships will be more likely to be attracted to men who are physically attractive and have forceful personalities (i.e. dominant males).

It seems likely that human females are biologically inclined to follow a reproductive strategy similar to some birds, where they initially seek a dependable male to settle down with and then have affairs with dominant males. This way they get the best of both worlds. They have a dependable male partner that helps them take care of their children, while they get to give their children more genetic diversity and the good genes of dominant males that the "nice guy" might not have. So in humans being a dominant male and being a "nice guy" probably represent two different reproductive strategies that both have evolutionary survival value.

Answer 4

No, it is not...autism and schizophrenia are well cut, well defined illnesess with proper characteristics and definitions.
Perhaps you qre referring to the isolated type of person, or secluded person that has personality "schizoid traits"...that is a different thing altogheter...being secludad and shy, has nothing to do with true diseases,,,they are just personality traits...
However, when shyness or seclusion, reach such a degree that interferes with the persons daily life, then, yes, we can consider that there is some disease that needs attention...
However,....being a "nice guy" is such a broad concept, that we would need to elaborate, what exactly means to be a nice guy,,,,

Answer 5

Being a "nice guy" in a biologiacl sense would actually be considered a biological defect in humans. Because humans are animals in the "true" sense of the word, you would only have to view this in an animalistic state. Ask yourself: Are there nice animals. Are there bad animals? As you will see there is no such thing. Animals react. Humans seem to have the power to differentiate between good and bad, but do they atually?. A "so called" terrorist takes his own life for a cause he wants to progresss. Is he bad? Or is he good? It depends on your view of the situation from which he came.

Answer 6

I think the nice guy syndrome can be one form of narcissism(web search narcissistic personality disorder). I'm not sure if this is biological but it is pathalogical and results from childhood injuries.
A person with narcissistic tendencies is driven by fear of abandonment, fear of intimacy and a need to be special. If one wears the hat of 'nice guy' he feels special, different from most people. Being a nice guy can be anti-intimate because the real self is not shown, only the nice guy image he wants others to see. So no one knows who he really is, and he's terrified they might find out. Being a nice guy also serves fear of abandonment because he never wants to make anyone mad or disapprove of him, so they wont leave him or reject him.

Answer 7

Biologically, I doubt it.
Being a "nice guy" (an altruist) has significant survival value in today's society and even going back hundreds of thousands of years. A nice guy, who was otherwise unable to obtain food or shelter, could use his "nice guy" status to beg or solicit assistance from his peers.
Pathology and schizophrenia are considered destructive to selves and others, altruism is not destructive.

Answer 8

I think being "nice" may be an innate attribute and can be taught, but I think it can't even be correllated to autism, which is a neurological disorder. Good thought about the origin of niceness, though...