"Latent profiles of multidimensional prosocial behaviors: An examination of prosocial personality groups"

Professor Gustavo Carlo (pictured right) is co-author of an article in the Journal of Social Psychology exploring prosocial personality groups.

The title of the article is “Latent profiles of multidimensional prosocial behaviors: An examination of prosocial personality groups.”
 
Co-authors are Assistant Professor Meredith McGinley (University of Wisconsin, first author), and Assistant Professor Sarah L. Pierotti (Penn State Dubois).
 
Carlo’s primary research interest focuses on understanding positive social development and health in culturally diverse children and adolescents. Many of his projects focus on U.S. ethnic/racial groups, including Latino/a youth and families. He has published more than 200 books, chapters, and research papers. He currently serves as a member of the Society for Research in Child Development Governing Council, as associate editor of the International Journal of Behavioral Development, and as co-editor of the upcoming APA Handbook of Adolescent Development. Carlo serves as director of UCI’s Cultural Resilience and Learning Center.

​Abstract
 
The current study sought to determine how prosocial behaviors reflecting various motivations (altruistic and public prosocial behaviors) and situations (i.e., anonymous, compliant, dire, and emotional prosocial behaviors) jointly inform subtypes of prosocial personality groups. Undergraduates (N = 324, M age = 19.47 years, 80% female) completed a measure of these six prosocial behaviors (Prosocial Tendencies Measure-Revised). Latent profile analysis results supported a three-group solution: altruistic helpers (AH), public helpers (PH), and altruistic idealists (AI). The AH and AI profiles were defined by elevated altruistic prosocial behaviors, but the AH profile was higher on situational helping and socioemotive and sociocognitive correlates. The PH profile was characterized by elevated public prosocial behaviors and moderate levels of situational helping. These identified profiles support multiple competing ideas of the true nature of prosocial personality, but also introduce the possibility that some individuals idealize motives but fail to engage in behavior.