Volunteerism in the last year as a moderator between empathy and altruistic social value orientation: an exploratory study

BACKGROUND: Volunteerism is a sustained prosocial activity, and young adults are one of the most important targets for organizations recruiting volunteers. Empathy and altruistic social value orientation measured by a decomposed game are dispositional traits that might foster engagement in volunteerism. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE: Using a self-report online-based questionnaire study on two groups of young adults (aged 18-35, N = 224 non-volunteers and N = 178 volunteers in the last year) the relationship between empathy and altruistic social value orientation in both of these groups was explored. RESULTS: The results showed that volunteers scored significantly higher on empathy and altruistic social value orientation than non-volunteers. In non-volunteers, empathy is positively linked to altruistic social value orientation, whereas for volunteers the relationship is inversed. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide evidence that volunteers, when high on empathy, might not necessarily be ready to share financial resources with others, as operationalized by a decomposed game.