One of the most essential life skills is the ability to persuade someone to do something that has a favourable outcome for ourselves. There is sophisticated psychology at work here. What is the incentive for the other person to do this activity? A cynical view that individuals are fundamentally self-centered and will act only in self-interest will inevitably condemn us to search for some leverage before interacting with anyone.
Fortunately, most humans do behave with a basic sense of decency - probably the source of cliches like 'faith in humanity' - and in most instances will accommodate others' needs and perform activities to benefit others. And, as with any population statistic, there is a spread for the 'helpfulness' index of individuals.
