Volunteer Behavior: A Hierarchical Model Approach for Investigating Its Trait and Functional Motive Antecedents

We investigated the antecedents of volunteer behavior within a hierarchical model of motivation and personality. In Study 1, we developed measures of altruism and volunteer orientation and combined them with three additional traits to predict a set of volunteer behaviors. In Studies 2 and 3, we adde...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of consumer psychology 2005, Vol.15 (2), p.170-182
Main Authors: Mowen, John C., Sujan, Harish
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Altruism
Antecedents
Behavior
Hierarchies
Motivation
Perceptions
Personality
Psychological aspects
Selfenhancement
Statistical analysis
Studies
Volunteers
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Summary:We investigated the antecedents of volunteer behavior within a hierarchical model of motivation and personality. In Study 1, we developed measures of altruism and volunteer orientation and combined them with three additional traits to predict a set of volunteer behaviors. In Studies 2 and 3, we added six functional motives for volunteering identified by Clary et al. (1998) to the model. Across the 3 studies, the traits of altruism, the need for activity, and the need for learning were consistent predictors of volunteer orientation. In Studies 2 and 3, the measure of volunteer orientation was a significant predictor of the functional motives and of volunteer behaviors. Furthermore, the motive to help others was positively related to volunteering behaviors, and the motive of self-enhancement was negatively related to them. Overall, the results support the proposal that functional motives act like motivated reasons for acting and reside at the surface level in a hierarchical model of personality.
ISSN:1057-7408
1532-7663
DOI:10.1207/s15327663jcp1502_9