The Interconnected Role of Empathy, Prosocial Behaviour, and Altruism among University Students

Abstract

The current study examines the relationship between empathy, prosocial behavior, and altruism in a cohort of university students. The first objective of the study is to examine the association between empathy and prosocial behaviour, second, to investigate the association between prosocial behaviour and altruism, and third, to evaluate the association between altruism and empathy. As part of a cross-sectional study, 400 university students completed a questionnaire on empathy, prosocial behaviour, and altruistic tendencies. Pearson correlations were used along with multiple regression techniques to examine relationships and the predictive role of prosocialness and empathy on altruism. The current study determined a significant positive association between prosocialness and empathy (r=.36). Altruism was found to have a significant positive relationship with prosocial behaviour (r=.51), while the positive relationship between empathy and altruism reached (r=.38). The findings of the study are useful in establishing educational strategies to promote empathy and prosocial behaviours in different settings. The findings suggested that the students with greater empathy appear to be more helpful or prosocial in behaviour, which in turn created an empathetic environment. It has practical applications in educational and community settings by focusing on encouraging prosocial and altruistic behaviours in students.