Altruistic Personality Scale

Abstract

The Altruistic Personality Scale (APS), also frequently referred to as the Self-Report Altruism (SRA) scale, is a 20-item psychometric instrument designed to measure an individual’s enduring altruistic tendency. Developed by Rushton, Chrisjohn, and Fekken in 1981, the scale operates as a self-report inventory that quantifies the frequency with which a person has engaged in various altruistic acts over their lifetime. These acts often involve helping behaviors directed toward strangers or acquaintances, emphasizing practical, observable actions. Participants respond to each item using a 5-point frequency scale, and the total score is treated as a continuous measure of generalized altruism.

Keywords

Altruism, Prosocial Behavior, Helping Behavior, Personality Trait, Self-Report Inventory, Psychometrics, Rushton Scale

Authors

Rushton, J. P., Chrisjohn, R. D., Fekken, G. C.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the Altruistic Personality Scale is to provide a reliable and efficient measure of individual differences in prosocial behavior. The scale was constructed to support the theoretical assertion that altruism is a stable, measurable personality construct, rather than merely a situationally dependent behavior. By retrospectively assessing the frequency of past helping acts, the APS aims to quantify the consistency of altruistic responses across diverse contexts.

The resulting continuous score allows researchers to correlate altruistic tendencies with other psychological variables, such as empathy, moral reasoning, and personality factors, thereby facilitating the study of the etiology and stability of the altruistic personality.

Construct

The psychological construct measured by the APS is generalized altruism, defined operationally through the frequency of observed helping behaviors. This construct posits that individuals possess varying levels of an inherent disposition toward helping others, regardless of immediate reward or recognition. The scale specifically focuses on behaviors that are voluntary, often involve some cost or inconvenience to the actor, and primarily benefit non-kin or strangers.

The 20 items cover a broad range of helping scenarios, including physical assistance, monetary donation, charitable work, and minor courtesies. This breadth ensures that the measure captures a robust and multifaceted representation of the altruistic disposition, moving beyond narrow definitions of helping behavior.

Validity

The Altruistic Personality Scale has demonstrated significant empirical validity across numerous studies since its inception. Construct validity is supported by its strong positive correlation with measures of related constructs, such as empathy, perspective-taking, and social responsibility. Conversely, it shows expected negative or weak correlations with measures of self-interest, Machiavellianism, and psychopathy, providing evidence of discriminant validity.

Furthermore, the APS possesses good predictive validity, as scores on the scale have been shown to correlate positively with actual observed helping behaviors in laboratory and field settings, suggesting that self-reported past behavior is a reliable predictor of future prosocial actions.

Reliability

The reliability of the APS is consistently reported as high in the psychological literature. Internal consistency, typically assessed using Cronbach’s alpha, generally falls in the range of .80 to .89 across different samples, indicating that the 20 items measure a coherent underlying construct.

Test-retest reliability studies have shown stability over short and moderate intervals, confirming that the scale measures a stable personality trait rather than a transient state. This stability reinforces the claim that the APS effectively captures the enduring nature of the altruistic personality.

Factor Analysis

Early factor analysis of the Altruistic Personality Scale, as well as subsequent confirmatory analyses, generally support a unidimensional structure. This indicates that the 20 items load onto a single, dominant factor representing general altruism or prosocial disposition.

While some studies have occasionally suggested minor secondary factors corresponding to specific types of helping (e.g., spontaneous vs. planned acts), the primary finding remains that the scale is best utilized as a single, continuous measure of the overall frequency of altruistic behavior. This simplicity in structure facilitates its widespread use in research settings.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-Report Inventory (Psychological Scale)

Format: 20 items answered on a 5-point frequency scale.

Language Available: English (Original), widely translated into various languages including Spanish, German, and Chinese.

Population Group: General population.

Age Group: Adolescents and Adults (typically 16 years and older).

Population Details: Originally normed on university student samples, but frequently used across diverse adult populations in cross-cultural and clinical research.

Test Methodology: Retrospective frequency rating of past helping behaviors. Scoring involves summing the numerical responses across all 20 items to yield a continuous total score.

Keywords

Self-Report Altruism Scale, SRA, Helping Behavior Frequency, Personality Assessment, Psychometrics, Rushton

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not uniformly available or applicable for all original authors (1981).

Affiliation Email addresses: Not available from the original source.

Correspondence Address: Not available from the original source.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The Altruistic Personality Scale is generally considered to be in the public domain for academic research purposes and is widely used without requiring formal fees or permissions, though citation of the original source is mandatory. The scale was first published in 1981.

Reference’s

• Rushton, J. P., Chrisjohn, R.D., & Fekken, G. C. (1981). The altruistic personality and the self-report altruism scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 1, 292-302.

Items of the ALTRUISTIC PERSONALITY SCALE

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Using the following scale‚ please se‎lect the category that conforms to the frequency with which you have carried out the following acts.

1= Never‚ 2= Once‚ 3= More than once‚ 4= Often‚ 5 =Very Often

1. I have helped push a stranger’s car that was broken down or out of gas.
2. I have given directions to a stranger.
3. I have made change for a stranger.
4. I have given money to a ch‎arity.
5. I have given money to a stranger who needed it (or asked me for it).
6. I have donated goods or clothes to a ch‎arity.
7. I have done volunteer work for a ch‎arity.
8. I have donated blood.
9. I have helped carry a stranger’s belongings (books‚ parcels‚ etc).
10. I have delayed an elevator and held the door open for a stranger.
11. I have allowed someone to go ahead of me in a lineup (in the supermarket‚ at a copy machine‚ at a fast-food restaurant).
12. I have given a stranger a lift in my car.
13. l have pointed out a clerk’s error (in a bank‚ at the supermarket) in underch‎arging me for an item.
14. I have let a neighbor whom I didn’t know too well borrow an item of some value to me (eg‚ a dish‚ tools‚ etc).
15. I have bought ‘ch‎arity’ holiday cards deliberately because I knew it was a good cause.
16. I have helped a classmate who I did not know that well with an assignment when my knowledge was greater than his or hers.
17. I have‚ before being asked‚ voluntarily looked after a neighbor’s pets or children without being paid for it.
18. I have offered to help a handicapped or elderly stranger across a street.
19. I have offered my seat on a bus or train to a stranger who was standing.
20. I have helped an acquaintance to move households.

Scoring: Score scale as a continuous measure (sum of item responses).