Gender & Altruism Assessing the

Gender & Altruism Assessing the relationship between gender and altruism Independent t-test results from the data showed that generally, there is no established significant relationship between gender of the individual and his/her propensity to commit acts of altruism. It is interesting to note, however, that looking into each scenario depicted in the survey, statistical results yielded plausible explanations and differences when respondents' responses are assessed not on significance, but on the mean responses for each scenario.

Behavior among women showed that they are more likely to respond and act altruistically in scenarios where they are asked whether to help a classmate catch up or not (M= 4.1) and jumpstart another person's car or not (M= 4.0). Among the five scenarios, it is the situation when one is asked to help another person with a flat tire that generated the least likelihood of assuming an altruistic behavior among female respondents, with only a mean response of M= 1.7.

On the overall, the mean scores of male respondents are relatively lower than females, which means that they assessed their altruistic behavior relatively lower than the women. Male respondents responded similarly to the scenario when one is asked whether s/he would help jumpstart another person's car or not, which yielded the highest mean score value among the five scenarios (at M=4.0, similar to the mean score of female respondents' answers).

However, it was the first scenario, which asked the individual to assess whether s/he would more likely help an individual struggling to carry a heavy box or not, with a mean response of M= 3.5, the second highest mean score among the scenarios presented. Interestingly, male respondents also responded unfavorably to the third scenario, which asked the respondent to determine whether she will more or less likely help an individual with a flat tire while on the road (M= 2.0).

From these results, both male and female respondents assessed two scenarios in the same manner and level of altruism. The scenarios which asked whether they will help jumpstart another person's car and help an individual with a flat tire, encountered while on the road, are both "car scenarios" that requires relatively greater levels of altruism than the other scenarios. The difference between these two scenarios, however, is that they have different settings.

It can be construed that what made the respondents respond favorably to the "jumpstart" scenario is the fact that it takes place at a relatively safe place, unlike that of the "flat tire" scenario, which places the individual at an undetermined place, and greater risk than the "jumpstart" scenario.

The willingness to help out other people while someone is within one's "comfort zone" -- that is, while the individual is at what s/he perceives as a relatively safer place -- is the determining factor that these findings illustrate in understanding altruistic behavior among men and women.

While it was not found that there are significant differences in one's gender and his/her altruistic behavior, it is important to note that the respondents' responses demonstrated that it is not empathy that is the main criterion that one uses in determining one's propensity to become altruistic towards others, but rather, more about feeling "at one with the other" (that is, the other person) (Cialdini et. al., 1997:483). The feeling of being "at one with the other" is an important concept that must be taken into consideration in understanding altruism.

What the findings showed is that altruism is best assessed not by the degree of help that one gives to the other, nor the feeling of empathy that is generated from the situation or scenario presented. The concept of oneness is found to be significant with the assessment of altruistic behavior (Maner et. al., 2002:1605).

In the scenarios mentioned earlier, which yielded the highest and lowest mean score responses from both male and female respondents, the feeling of "oneness" is evident in the car scenarios, since all respondents felt positively and negatively for the "jumpstart" and "flat tire" scenarios, respectively. However, the explanation provided about the "jumpstart" scenario as being relatively 'safer' and within the comfort zone of the respondent than the "flat tire" scenario, important insights are still needed in order to best assess the reason why these scenarios are.