Altruism: A Data-Driven Learning Guide

Application

In this exercise we will explore some of the factors that may influence altruistic behavior, using frequency tables and crosstabulation.

Altruism will be measured using two variables: VOLCHRTY, which asks respondents how often they have done volunteer work for a charity in the past year; and GIVHMLESS, which asks them how often they have given food or money to a homeless person in the past year. Each variable contains 6 categories: "More than once a week" (1), "Once a week" (2), "Once a month" (3), "At least two or three times in the past year" (4), "Once in the past year" (5), and "Not at all in the past year" (6). We recoded the variables to exclude those who responded "Don't know" or did not answer. We also collapsed the categories from 6 to 4 and reversed the coding so that higher numbers meant higher levels of altruism (3="Once a week or more" 2="Once a month" 1="One to three times per year" and 0="Not at all in the past year"). We named the new variables CHARITY and HMLESSHELP .

Altruism and Empathy

Empathy is measured by the variable EMPATHY1: "I often have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me." Responses are coded on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 denotes low empathy for people less fortunate, and 5 denotes high empathy. We recoded the variable to exclude those who said "don't know" or refused to answer, and collapsed the variable into 3 categories: 1="low empathy," 2="medium empathy" and 3="high empathy". The new variable is called "EMPATHY."

Examine the frequency distribution of EMPATHY . What percentage of respondents show high levels of empathy?

Run a crosstab of CHARITY and EMPATHY . Among those who reported high levels of empathy, what percentage said they do volunteer work for a charity at least once a week? Of those who showed low empathy, what percentage reported that they volunteer at least once a week?

Next run a crosstab of HMLESSHELP and EMPATHY . Are people who show high levels of empathy more likely to give food or money to a homeless person than people who show low levels of empathy? What percentage of those with high empathy and what percentage of those with low empathy have not helped a homeless person at all in the past year?

Altruism and the Social Responsibility Norm

We will use the variable OTHSHELP (People should be willing to help others who are less fortunate) to measure the social responsibility norm. Answers to this question are coded using a 5-point Likert scale (1="strongly agree" to 5="strongly disagree"). We recoded the variable to exclude those who said "don't know" or refused to answer, and collapsed the variable into 3 categories: 1="agree," 2="neither agree nor disagree" and 3="disagree". We named the new variable "DUTYHELP."

Looking at the frequency distribution of DUTYHELP , what percentage of respondents agrees that people should help less fortunate others?

Turning once again to the measures of altruism, run crosstabs of DUTYHELP by CHARITY and DUTYHELP by HMLESSHELP . First, look at the influence of the norm of social responsibility on respondents' level of volunteerism. What percentage of those who agree that people should help less fortunate others reports volunteering once a week or more? How does this number compare to those who disagreed with the idea that they should help less fortunate others? What percentage of each group has not volunteered at all in the past year?

Do these patterns hold when looking at whether and how much respondents helped the homeless? Of the three categories in DUTYHELP, which group is most likely to help the homeless most often? Which group is the most likely to say that they have not helped the homeless at all in the past year?

Note: The online data analysis system (DAS) used on this site uses a system called Survey Documentation and Analysis (SDA), developed and maintained by the Computer-assisted Survey Methods Program (CSM) at the University of California, Berkeley. Documentation for DAS/SDA can be found on their Web site.

Goal & Concept - Dataset - Application - Interpretation & Summary - Bibliography