According to a new study, people who have taken the Giving What We Can (GWWC) pledge to donate at least 10% of their income to charity display distinct cognitive and personality traits. This research was published in the Journal of Personality.
Altruism has been a central focus of social science research, particularly the study of individuals whose moral concern for others far exceeds that of the typical population. These extraordinary altruists, who often make significant personal sacrifices to help others, challenge traditional evolutionary theories of altruism, which suggest that helping behaviors are motivated by potential future benefits or kin relationships. In this context, understanding the motivations and characteristics of those who pledge to donate a substantial portion of their income to charity provides valuable insights into the nature of altruistic behavior.
GWWC is an organization that encourages individuals to commit to donating at least 10% of their income to charity throughout their lives. Matti Wilks and colleagues sought to identify the cognitive and personality traits that distinguish these extraordinary altruists from the general population.
This research involved 536 participants from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, Germany, and the Netherlands, divided into two groups: 294 GWWC pledgers and 240 individuals from a country-matched control group. The researchers recruited 536 participants, including 294 GWWC pledgers and 240 individuals from a country-matched control group.
The control group was carefully selected to match the demographics of the GWWC pledgers, ensuring comparable groups in terms of country of residence. Participants completed a survey designed to measure a variety of cognitive and personality traits, including tasks to assess emotion recognition, specifically focusing on the ability to identify fearful facial expressions using images from the Radboud Faces Database.
Participants completed self-report questionnaires to measure moral expansiveness (the extent to which individuals extend moral concern to a broad range of entities), empathy and compassion levels, social dominance orientation (preference for hierarchical social structures), and maximizing tendencies (the pursuit of optimal outcomes). The survey also assessed actively open-minded thinking (willingness to revise beliefs based on new evidence), need for cognition (preference for engaging in complex thinking), and utilitarianism (the extent to which participants endorse principles that prioritize the greater good).
The study revealed several key differences between individuals who have taken the GWWC pledge and those in the control group. GWWC pledgers were significantly better at recognizing fearful facial expressions, a trait linked to heightened sensitivity to others’ emotional states and prosocial behavior. They also scored higher in moral expansiveness, indicating a broader scope of moral concern that extends beyond immediate social circles to include animals, plants, and the environment.
GWWC pledgers exhibited higher levels of actively open-minded thinking, demonstrating a greater willingness to consider different perspectives and revise their beliefs in light of new evidence. They also showed a stronger need for cognition, reflecting a preference for engaging in complex and thoughtful decision-making processes.
Contrary to the researchers’ expectations, GWWC pledgers scored lower on maximizing tendencies, suggesting that their altruistic behavior may be driven more by adherence to principles rather than a constant pursuit of optimal personal outcomes.
Overall, the results highlight that GWWC pledgers are characterized by a unique combination of cognitive traits that emphasize rational decision-making and a broad moral concern for others.
One limitation is that the study did not include measures of income or socioeconomic status, which may also play a role in explaining the differences observed.
The study, “Who gives? Characteristics of those who have taken the Giving What We Can pledge”, was authored by Matti Wilks, Jessica McCurdy, and Paul Bloom.