Is Self-Transcendence Philanthropic? Graded Response Model Approach

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Environmental Studies
• Sociology

Background:

• Prosocial and pro-environmental behaviors are influenced by underlying values.
• Distinguishing between altruistic and biospheric value orientations is crucial for understanding these behaviors.
• Previous research has explored the relationship between self-transcendence values and environmental engagement.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the independent predictive power of altruism and biosphere values on prosocial and pro-environmental behaviors.
• To examine the reliability and validity of a combined self-transcendence construct.
• To analyze the influence of these value orientations on past volunteering activities in social and environmental domains.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the Graded Response Model (GRM) for psychometric analysis.
• Assessed statistical significance of altruism and biosphere in predicting specific behaviors.
• Compared the predictive efficacy of separate value constructs versus a merged self-transcendence construct.

Main Results:

• Altruism was a significant predictor of both prosocial and pro-environmental behaviors.
• Biosphere values did not significantly predict pro-environmental behavior, such as volunteering for clean-ups.
• Altruism and biosphere were found to be independent constructs; merging them into self-transcendence reduced reliability and statistical power.

Conclusions:

• Altruism is a more direct and reliable predictor of prosocial and pro-environmental actions than biosphere values.
• The construct of self-transcendence, when encompassing both altruism and biosphere, lacks statistical robustness in predicting volunteering behaviors.
• Future research should maintain the distinction between altruistic and biospheric value orientations for clearer insights into behavioral drivers.