Xiao Yunyu, Wong Kelly, Cheng Qijin, Yip Paul S F
School of Social Work, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, United States.
School of Social Work, Indiana University Bloomington, Bloomington, IN, United States.
Front Psychol. 2021 Jan 7;11:562846. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.562846. eCollection 2020.
Prior research suggests that most people perceive themselves to be more altruistic than the average population, an observation known as the better-than-average (BTA) effect. Understanding the BTA effect carries significant public health implications, as self-perceived altruism is closely related to altruistic behaviors, which plays a significant role in individual and societal well-being. However, little is known about whether subpopulations with specific sociodemographic profiles are more likely to hold BTA altruistic self-perceptions, making it difficult to design targeted programs based on multiple sociodemographic characteristics to promote altruistic behaviors. This study addresses this gap by identifying the sociodemographic profiles of populations who are more likely to exhibit BTA effects on trait altruism. Data were derived from a representative sample of Hong Kong citizens ( = 1,185) in the 2017 Hong Kong Altruism Survey. A latent class analysis was performed using four domains of sociodemographic characteristics: sex, age, religion, and socioeconomic status. Multivariate multinomial logistic regressions were conducted to examine associations between class membership, BTA effect, and altruistic behaviors. The results yielded four classes of sociodemographic profiles. Middle-aged, Christian/Catholic, highly educated, and high-income individuals (Class 4, 17.8%) were most likely to exhibit BTA effects and behave altruistically; Class 3 (14.0%) were older, male, no/other religious belief, low education, and least likely to exhibit BTA effects and behave altruistically. Findings improve the understanding of the sociodemographic profiles of people showing BTA effects and facilitate targeted policy development to effectively promote altruism.
先前的研究表明，大多数人认为自己比一般人更具利他主义精神，这一现象被称为优于平均水平（BTA）效应。理解BTA效应具有重大的公共卫生意义，因为自我认知的利他主义与利他行为密切相关，而利他行为在个人和社会福祉中发挥着重要作用。然而，对于具有特定社会人口统计学特征的亚群体是否更有可能持有BTA利他主义自我认知，我们知之甚少，这使得难以根据多种社会人口统计学特征设计针对性的项目来促进利他行为。本研究通过确定更有可能在特质利他主义上表现出BTA效应的人群的社会人口统计学特征来填补这一空白。数据来自2017年香港利他主义调查中具有代表性的香港市民样本（n = 1185）。使用社会人口统计学特征的四个领域进行了潜在类别分析：性别、年龄、宗教和社会经济地位。进行了多变量多项逻辑回归分析，以检验类别归属、BTA效应和利他行为之间的关联。结果产生了四类社会人口统计学特征。中年、基督教/天主教、受过高等教育和高收入的个体（第4类，17.8%）最有可能表现出BTA效应并做出利他行为；第3类（14.0%）年龄较大、男性、无/其他宗教信仰、教育程度低，最不可能表现出BTA效应并做出利他行为。研究结果增进了对表现出BTA效应的人群的社会人口统计学特征的理解，并有助于制定有针对性的政策，以有效促进利他主义。
