Beliefs about humanity, not higher power, predict extraordinary altruism

• Published in: Journal of research in personality 2022-12, Vol.101, p.104313, Article 104313
• Main Authors: Amormino, P., O'Connell, K., Vekaria, K.M., Robertson, E.L., Meena, L.B., Marsh, A.A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Altruism; Empathy; Helping/prosocial behavior; Morality; Religion
• ISSN: 0092-6566; 1095-7251
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jrp.2022.104313

•Beliefs about humanity differ between extraordinary altruists and controls.•Extraordinary altruists are less likely to believe that humans can be truly evil.•Results persisted controlling for religiosity, empathy, and demographic factors.•Extraordinary altruists are no more religious or spiritual than controls.•Preliminary evidence suggests lower cynicism motivates extraordinary altruism. Using a rare sample of altruistic kidney donors (n = 56, each of whom had donated a kidney to a stranger) and demographically similar controls (n = 75), we investigated how beliefs about human nature correspond to extraordinary altruism. Extraordinary altruists were less likely than controls to believe that humans can be truly evil. Results persisted after controlling for trait empathy and religiosity. Belief in pure good was not associated with extraordinary altruism. We found no differences in the religiosity and spirituality of extraordinary altruists compared to controls. Findings suggest that highly altruistic individuals believe that others deserve help regardless of their potential moral shortcomings. Results provide preliminary evidence that lower levels of cynicism motivate costly, non-normative altruism toward strangers.