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The relationship between personality and empathy on prosocial behavior among undergraduate students in Klang Valley, Malaysia


Citation

Khairol Anwar, Farah Dayana and Ma’rof, Aini Azeqa and Abdullah, Haslinda (2024) The relationship between personality and empathy on prosocial behavior among undergraduate students in Klang Valley, Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 14 (8). ISSN 2222-6990

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of different personality qualities, namely Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, Neuroticism, and empathy, on prosocial behavior in a sample of 322 adults. The study employed a quantitative research methodology to examine personality traits and prosocial behavior using self-reported measures. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were then conducted to determine the predictive potential of these traits. The examination of levels of prosocial conduct indicated that a majority of individuals displayed elevated tendencies towards engaging in prosocial actions. Similarly, the distribution of personality traits exhibited elevated scores mostly in the dimensions of Conscientiousness and Openness. Correlation research revealed notable positive associations between prosocial conduct and the majority of personality qualities, with empathy being the most prominent factor. Importantly, there was no significant correlation observed between Neuroticism and prosocial conduct. The results of the multiple regression analysis highlighted the importance of empathy in predicting prosocial conduct, transcending the impact of other personality qualities. The regression model explained a significant amount of the variation in prosocial behavior, demonstrating the powerful ability of empathy in conjunction with specific personality traits to make accurate predictions. The study emphasizes the crucial role of empathy in cultivating prosocial behaviors, indicating that interventions targeting the improvement of empathetic abilities could be successful in encouraging prosocial activities in different situations.


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Additional Metadata

Item Type: Article
Divisions: Faculty of Human Ecology
Institute for Social Science Studies
DOI Number: https://doi.org/10.6007/ijarbss/v14-i8/22563
Publisher: Human Resources Management Academic Research Society (HRMARS)
Keywords: Prosocial behavior; Empathy; Personality traits; Behavioral predictors; Undergraduate students
Depositing User: Ms. Che Wa Zakaria
Date Deposited: 28 Aug 2025 04:37
Last Modified: 28 Aug 2025 04:37
Altmetrics: http://www.altmetric.com/details.php?domain=psasir.upm.edu.my&doi=10.6007/ijarbss/v14-i8/22563
URI: http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/119581
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