Altruism

In common language, we think of altruism as self-less actions that benefit others. In psychology, the concept of altruism has been studied for decades. 

Not surprisingly, researchers have looked at the benefits to the person acting altruistically as if such benefits might undermine the concept of altruism.

One scientist who is known for extensive study of altruism is Batson. Batson was skeptical of the concept of altruism but his experimental work changed his mind. Following is his definition (Batson, 2010).

By altruism I mean a motivational state with the ultimate goal of increasing
another's welfare. Altruism is juxtaposed to egoism, a motivational
state with the ultimate goal of increasing one's own welfare. I use the term
ultimate here to refer to means-end relations, not to a metaphysical first or
final cause. An ultimate goal is an end in itself. In contrast, an instrumental
goal is a stepping stone on the way to reaching an ultimate goal. If a barrier to
reaching an instrumental goal arises, then alternative routes to the ultimate
goal will be sought. Should the ultimate goal be reached while bypassing the
instrumental goal, the motivational force will disappear. If a goal is ultimate,
it cannot be bypassed in this way (Lewin, 1938). Both instrumental and ultimate
goals should be distinguished from unintended consequences, results of
an action—foreseen or unforeseen—that are not the goal of the action. Each
ultimate goal defines a distinct goal-directed motive. Hence, altruism and
egoism are distinct motives, even though they can co-occur (p. 16).

 Not all scholars agree with Batson. There is a problem of understanding human motivation thus, some have focused on helping behavior. A value of Batson's approach is the focus on motivation and the psychological understanding of goal-directed behavior. I appreciate his understanding of self-benefits, which may be due to unintended consequences or even the possibility that altruism and egoism may both be present.

Finally, I should point out that altruism research overlaps with studies of generosity. You will see online sources where generosity and altruism are synonyms (e.g., Oxford, 2018).

Read more about generosity and altruism in Chapter 3 of Living Well 10 BIG IDEAS of FAITH and a MEANINGFUL LIFE available on AMAZON.

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Reference

Batson, C. D. (2010). Empathy-induced altruistic motivation. In Prosocial motives, emotions, and behavior: The better angels of our nature. (pp. 15–34). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/12061-001 

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Compassion

The behavioral science concept of compassion is similar to the common definition of the term.

Compassion is the feeling people describe when faced with another person’s 

suffering and the motivation to help reduce the impact of the suffering.

Compassion is related to the concepts of empathy and altruism but compassion is not the same as those concepts. Compassion involves emotional and cognitive empathy—the ability to take the perspective of another person and feel similar feelings. Compassion is different because it included the motivation to help improve someone’s situation.

Compassion shares with altruism the giving of oneself or resources to another. But compassion is not the only motive for altruism.

Compassion is related to love. The biology of compassion includes the presence of the hormone oxytocin, which has been called the “love drug” or the “bonding hormone.” In brain studies, the region of the brain linked to caring for others is activated in studies of empathy and caring. During sex, both men and women produce oxytocin. It’s also produced by women during childbirth and lactation.

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Read more about love and compassion in Chapter 10 of Living Well on AMAZON.

One set of items to measure compassion is the Santa Clara Brief Compassion Scale (Hwang, Plante, & Lackey, 2008), which is derived from the longer, 21-item, Compassionate Love Scale (Sprecher & Fehr, 2005).

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References

Hwang, J., Plante, T., & Lackey, K. (2008). The development of the Santa Clara Brief Compassion Scale: An abbreviation of Sprecher and Fehr's Compassionate Love Scale. Pastoral Psychology, 56, 421-428. doi:10.1007/s11089-008-0117-2

Sprecher, S., & Fehr, B. (2005). Compassionate love for close others and humanity. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 22, 629–651.

Sutton, G. W., Jordan, K., & Worthington, E.L., Jr. (2014). Spirituality, hope, compassion, and forgiveness: Contributions of Pentecostal spirituality to godly love. Journal of Psychology and Christianity, 33, 212-226. Academia Link     ResearchGate 

Photo credit: I took the photo of Convoy of Hope helping people on the site where the tornado of 2007 destroyed the Assemblies of God church in Greensburg Kansas, USA. The tornado wiped out over 90% of the city.

Related Posts

How to measure love

How to ask people about forgiveness

How to measure hope

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Humility

Humility is a characteristic of people who speak and behave as if they truly believe that others are equal in importance to themselves.  Humility involves an accurate appraisal of one’s strengths and weaknesses, culturally defined modesty when sharing with others, and a limited focus on oneself in interpersonal relationships.

We especially recognize humility when people considered important in a society do not act as if other people are less important.  We usually recognize humility by what people say or write but nonverbal actions like ignoring others, pushing people out of the way to grab a better position, or seeking special treatment also reflect a higher sense of self-importance and thus a lack of humility.

Humility as defined by Worthington and Scott (2018) page 4.

Humility has three qualities. Humble people are those who (a) have an
accurate sense of self, know their limitations, and are teachable; (b) present
themselves modestly in ways that do not put others off by arrogance or by
false, insincere modesty or displaying weakness; and (c) are especially oriented
to advancing others—not through groveling weakness but through power
under control, power used to build others up rather than squash them down.

Ev Worthington and Scott Allison (2018) explain that humility can be found in a single act, a temporary state, or identified as a personality trait. A humble act can be as simple as giving up one’s right to a seat or the right to speak. A humble state may be a situational state as in the presence of a respected leader but a state not found in other contexts. A trait is a pattern of behavior, which may be found in various contexts over time.

Three Types of Humility

1. People with cultural humility are open to the ideas, values, and cultures of people in different cultures as well as a recognition of the strengths and weaknesses of one’s own culture.

2. Intellectual humility appears as an appreciation of one’s own abilities and respect for the thoughts and capabilities of others. This contrasts with braggarts, know-it-alls, and those who overclaim their skills.

3. Spiritual humility entails a sense of awe and respect for God or gods and sacred practices such as prayer, baptism, and ceremonies, or sacred objects like altars, writings, and crosses.

Humility is a gateway virtue.

You might be interested -- Humility is Chapter One in Living Well on AMAZON.

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References

Davis, D. E., Hook, J. N., McAnnally-Linz, R., Choe, E., & Placeres, V. (2017). Humility, religion, and spirituality: A review of the literature. Psychology of Religion And Spirituality, 9(3), 242-253. doi:10.1037/rel0000111

McElroy-Heltzel, S. E., Davis, D. E., DeBlaere, C., Worthington, E. L., & Hook, J. N. (2018). Embarrassment of riches in the measurement of humility: A critical review of 22 measures. The Journal of Positive Psychology, doi:10.1080/17439760.2018.1460686

Worthington, E. J., & Allison, S. T. (2018). Heroic humility: What the science of humility can say to people raised on self-focus (pp. 91-103). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association. doi:10.1037/0000079-006

Connections

My Page    www.suttong.com

My Books   AMAZON     GOOGLE PLAY STORE

FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton

TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton

Publications (many free downloads)

     

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton   (PhD)

     

  ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton   (PhD)