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February 27, 2006

Altruism and Empathy in America: Trends and Correlates

One of the main limitations of social-science research on altruism is that most research has been based on very restricted, small, non- representative samples, mostly of undergraduate students.1 While work with student, convenience samples can be very useful, especially when experimental designs are utilized, they suffer from serious, external-validity problems and do not tell social scientists and others about the extent of behaviors and values in society-at-large. . . . Four aspects of altruism were examined: altruistic love, altruistic values, altruistic behaviors, and empathy.

Posted by Gary Holden at February 27, 2006 12:05 AM