Altruistic aptitude: Age-dependent influence of temperament and emotional intelligence

Abstract

It is unclear why some people behave altruistically and others do not. This study seeks to determine what psychological features could help predict altruistic behavior. We addressed the issue by examining distinct dimensions of temperament and emotional intelligence and their associations with the level of proaltruistic aptitude in two distant age-groups, young (20-29 years) and senior (60-79 years) persons. The study was one of a self-reported psychometric survey. The major findings were that emotional intelligence, rather than temperament, is strongly associated with the expression of altruistic behavior in both young and senior subjects, despite a general decrease in the characteristics of emotional intelligence in advanced age. We also failed to substantiate the presence of an appreciable difference in the level of declared altruism between the senior and young subjects. High emotional intelligence, often underling social engagement and bonding, seems thus a good predictor of altruistic aptitude to be displayed by a person. The independence of this association of age-changes in emotional agility is suggestive of causal relationship. The study is relevant for an understanding of the enigmatic origins of important social behaviors like altruism. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht.