Gender Influences on Altruistic behaviour
Altruism or selflessness, When a person or people commit an act with no higher gain or benefit towards themselves then that of assisting another( Psych book). Examples could be a person who donate blood or volunteering for a charity. Even simple acts such as holding open a door or putting change in the charity tins at the supermarket. All these acts are considered part of altruistic behaviour. There has been debate over whether or not true altruism actually exists, many suggest that an individual will always have some sort of benefit from any given action(1). Also referred to as ethical hedonism. An example being that of social gain, or pride in being looked upon as someone good or charitable, culture and such would influence this greatly in a way of what is to be …show more content…
For the point of this study we will be looking at the studies done in relation to gender influences. Most studies found that females portrayed more altruistic behaviours than males (Simmons & Emanuele, 2007). Many of the results have suggested that though females do portray altruistic behaviour more commonly, there was a suggestion on circumstances playing a part. One study in particular ( 2 )has suggested that if the price towards oneself is high when committing altruistic behaviour, women are more likely to do so, while men are less likely. However when the opposite is true, when the price is low women are less likely to participate in this behaviour while men are more likely to do so. The usefulness of studies like these are significant for someone who is working in charity or marketing, because it allows for them to target specific groups and get more chance at getting money or help. In This study we will be looking at the relationship between gender and altruistic behaviour in first year university students. It is hypothesised that female participants will score higher on the altruism scale then men, as
Altruism or selflessness, When a person or people commit an act with no higher gain or benefit towards themselves then that of assisting another( Psych book). Examples could be a person who donate blood or volunteering for a charity. Even simple acts such as holding open a door or putting change in the charity tins at the supermarket. All these acts are considered part of altruistic behaviour. There has been debate over whether or not true altruism actually exists, many suggest that an individual will always have some sort of benefit from any given action(1). Also referred to as ethical hedonism. An example being that of social gain, or pride in being looked upon as someone good or charitable, culture and such would influence this greatly in a way of what is to be …show more content…
For the point of this study we will be looking at the studies done in relation to gender influences. Most studies found that females portrayed more altruistic behaviours than males (Simmons & Emanuele, 2007). Many of the results have suggested that though females do portray altruistic behaviour more commonly, there was a suggestion on circumstances playing a part. One study in particular ( 2 )has suggested that if the price towards oneself is high when committing altruistic behaviour, women are more likely to do so, while men are less likely. However when the opposite is true, when the price is low women are less likely to participate in this behaviour while men are more likely to do so. The usefulness of studies like these are significant for someone who is working in charity or marketing, because it allows for them to target specific groups and get more chance at getting money or help. In This study we will be looking at the relationship between gender and altruistic behaviour in first year university students. It is hypothesised that female participants will score higher on the altruism scale then men, as