<p>Hmmm, interesting.</p>
<p>Overall results (score 50)</p>
<p>Overall tendency to be altruistic or egotistic.</p>
<p>According to your score, you are generally an altruistic person. Although you don’t always make other people’s needs and welfare your main priority, you are willing to make some sacrifices when necessary. Keep in mind that being altruistic doesn’t imply you have to give away every last cent and the clothes off your back – simple gestures of kindness (e.g. holding the door open for someone, giving up your seat on a bus to someone who really needs it) can go a long way. To feel a part of humanity and good about yourself, it is important commit acts of kindness – not only for your own sense of happiness, but for others’ as well.</p>
<p>Empathy (score 56)</p>
<p>The ability to identify with, and understand other people’s circumstances and feelings.</p>
<p>Your results indicate that you are generally an empathetic person, but aren’t always able or willing to see things from other people’s perspective. You sometimes have difficulty identifying with people and their feelings. Many researchers believe that empathy is a defining characteristic of true altruists. It’s the ability to empathize with others that often motivates people to help someone. Although you may very well be a selfless person, being able to really understand where others’ are coming from and why they would truly benefit from your consideration makes any kind gesture you commit all the more meaningful. Taking a moment to put yourself in other people’s shoes and trying to see the world through their eyes can really teach you a lot about them, and yourself.</p>
<p>Helpfulness (score 69)</p>
<p>The willingness to offer aid to others.</p>
<p>Your score on the Helpfulness scale was fairly high. You will often go out of your way to help others, and in some cases, will do so without even being asked. As you likely know, offering your support and being there when needed doesn’t just benefit the people around you but yourself as well. Chances are that when you’re in need of a shoulder to lean on, you’ll have someone to turn to. The best part about helping others isn’t only that warm, fuzzy feeling it provokes, but its potentially “infectious” nature as well. That one person you help may do the same for someone else, and so on!</p>
<p>Opportunism (score 74)</p>
<p>Assesses whether your motivation to help others is based on self-interest rather than selflessness.</p>
<p>Your responses allude to the fact that when you help others or extend a kind gesture to them, you generally don’t do so because you really want to. In many cases, you may often have an underlying motive, such as wanting something in return. The hallmark of someone who truly cares about others is a genuine concern for their well-being and needs – not whether helping them can somehow be personally beneficial. This “cost/benefit” method of thinking dampens the spirit of true thoughtfulness and renders an act of kindness nearly valueless. You may want rethink whether this kind of attitude really does benefit you in the long-run, particularly in terms of your principles and the impression you could be giving others.</p>