Personality attributes of volunteers and paid workers engaged in similar occupational tasks

The authors' primary aim was to determine whether Australian volunteers and paid workers who were engaged in similar activities differed on aspects of a 5-factor model of personality. Their secondary aim was to determine whether personality attributes were similar between volunteers involved in different activities. The participants were 36 volunteer food preparers, 38 paid food preparers, and 31 volunteer firefighters. Each participant completed a personality inventory (P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1992) and a brief demographic questionnaire. As predicted, the volunteer food preparers were more agreeable and extraverted than were their paid counterparts. The two volunteer groups differed only on the personality facet of assertiveness. The results support the existence of a constellation of traits that constitute a volunteering disposition; such traits may be relatively stable across time and situations. These results have scientific and practical implications for the literature on volunteering.     

A Study of Current, Former, and New Elderly Volunteers: A Comparison of Developmental and Trait Models of Personality

This study examined relationships among personality traits, ego development, and volunteering among retired seniors who were current, former, and new volunteers. Volunteer history, but not extensiveness of volunteer experience, was associated with higher ego development. Current volunteers had higher levels of ego development than former and new volunteers, and former volunteers had higher levels than new volunteers. Openness to experience and ego development were positively associated. Results of multiple-regression analyses indicated that openness and volunteering history and extensiveness positively predicted ego development. This study supported the hypothesis that ego development is related to volunteering and suggests that participation in volunteer work promotes ego development.     

Religion and Volunteering Over the Adult Life Course

Previous studies have not longitudinally assessed whether religion is related to individuals’ movement into volunteering activities across the adult life course. Using four waves of panel data, I present evidence that religion is associated with individuals’ movement into religious institution and nonreligious institutional forms of volunteerism—volunteering for a religious congregation or other religious organization, and volunteering for a nonreligious institution, respectively. I consider the general religious mechanisms of changes in motivation to volunteer through enhanced religious beliefs and increased opportunities to volunteer through greater religious service attendance and involvement. Increased religious belief and attendance result in a greater probability that individuals engage in religious institution volunteerism. Religious institution volunteering increases the likelihood of movement into other formal volunteering over the adult life course. This analysis offers evidence that religious institutions are feeder systems, as increased involvement yields more opportunities for formal volunteerism over the adult life course, irrespective of underlying personality traits. Additionally, the findings suggest that religious mechanisms may operate differently across Christian religious traditions.     

Differences in motivations of paid versus nonpaid volunteers

143 AmeriCorps volunteers (30 men; 113 women) and 127 college student volunteers (43 men; 84 women) completed the Volunteer Functions Inventory to assess whether monetary compensation was associated with choice to volunteer to provide educational services, e.g., tutoring, mentoring. Based on Snyder's 1993 theory of functionalism, motives of paid (AmeriCorps participants) and nonpaid (college students) volunteers were expected to differ. It was also predicted that the motives of female and male volunteers would differ. Multivariate analysis of variance confirmed these assumptions. In general, paid male participants reported perceiving numerous benefits associated with volunteering and reported stronger beliefs about such benefits. Female participants reported motives for volunteering, in contrast, which were not linked with monetary compensation. The women reported recognizing the benefits of volunteering and engaging in this activity for egoistic reasons. Their reported motives had little relation to compensation.     

The first year: influences on the satisfaction, involvement, and persistence of new community volunteers

This investigation tests an elaborated form of Omoto and Snyder's volunteer process model, which explains how the helping behavior of volunteers is influenced by antecedent factors and by subjective experiences while volunteering. Two-hundred-thirty-eight community volunteers from nine different organizations were recruited at the time of initial orientation and completed measures of personality and motivation. They were contacted at four times during their first year of volunteering and queried regarding their emotional reactions (sympathy, distress), satisfaction, and degree to which their motivations for volunteering were being fulfilled. Consistent with the elaborated model, feelings of sympathy, distress, and motive fulfillment were substantially predicted by antecedent factors, and satisfaction with the volunteer work was substantially predicted by these subjective experiences. Also consistent with the elaborated model, volunteer involvement (hours per week volunteered) was predicted by satisfaction, although volunteer persistence over time was not. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Volunteer Behavior: A Hierarchical Model Approach for Investigating Its Trait and Functional Motive Antecedents

We investigated the antecedents of volunteer behavior within a hierarchical model of motivation and personality. In Study 1, we developed measures of altruism and volunteer orientation and combined them with three additional traits to predict a set of volunteer behaviors. In Studies 2 and 3, we added six functional motives for volunteering identified by Clary et al. (1998) to the model. Across the 3 studies, the traits of altruism, the need for activity, and the need for learning were consistent predictors of volunteer orientation. In Studies 2 and 3, the measure of volunteer orientation was a significant predictor of the functional motives and of volunteer behaviors. Furthermore, the motive to help others was positively related to volunteering behaviors, and the motive of self‐enhancement was negatively related to them. Overall, the results support the proposal that functional motives act like motivated reasons for acting and reside at the surface level in a hierarchical model of personality.     

Beyond keeping active: concomitants of being a volunteer in old-old age

This study examines concomitants of volunteering in the context of other lifestyle activities. Investigating formal volunteering in old-old age, the authors analyzed data of 148 volunteers versus 1,195 nonvolunteers in a national sample of the Israeli Jewish population aged 75-94. As hypothesized, being a volunteer related (whether as a cause or effect) to more positive functioning on psychosocial markers and prospectively resulted in reduced mortality risk even when other activity outlets (physical activity, everyday activities, having a hobby) were controlled. These findings suggest that the benefits of volunteering in late life are not reducible to those of other activities.     

Dedicating Time to Volunteering: Values,Engagement, and Commitment to Beneficiaries

A moderated mediation model was developed to explain the variation in the amount of time volunteers dedicate to their chosen voluntary cause. Data from 534 volunteers of an international aid and development agency in the United Kingdom revealed a positive relationship between prosocial values and time spent volunteering. The results also show that volunteer engagement fully mediated the relationship between the value motive and time spent volunteering, and the strength of the mediated effect varied as a function of volunteers' commitment to beneficiaries. These findings provide a new perspective on the link between volunteers' motivation and active participation in volunteer activities. Implications for practice and future research directions are discussed.     

Teenagers’ Perceptions of Volunteering Following the 2010–2011 Canterbury Earthquakes,New Zealand

ABSTRACT

Limited research exists of teenagers’ involvement in the response phase of a natural disaster. There is little, for example on volunteering, and of specifically what motivates teenagers to volunteer and the activities they participate in. Therefore, this study investigated teenagers’ involvement and perceptions of volunteering following the 2010–2011 Canterbury, New Zealand, earthquakes. Six focus groups were conducted with 31 teenagers aged 16–18 who had experienced the earthquakes. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis leading to four themes, namely sense of control, sense of purpose, shift in perspective, and restrictions. Findings emphasize the importance of organizing youth-focused volunteer groups, due to volunteering potentially reducing teenagers’ psychological distress postdisaster.     

When does being paid an hourly wage make it difficult to be a happy volunteer?

When people willingly volunteer their time, how does the salience of the opportunity costs of their time influence their experience of the activity? Study 1 uses the American Time Use Survey Well-Being module to examine whether the subjective experience of happiness while volunteering is influenced by how people are paid and the opportunity costs of their time spent volunteering. Among hourly paid workers for whom there is a salient heuristic for the opportunity costs of time, we found that higher opportunity costs of time as indicated by income and duration of the activity were associated with diminished happiness experienced during volunteering. No differences across income and duration emerged among non-hourly workers for whom there was not a salient heuristic for the opportunity costs of time. Using a student population who all volunteered for the same charity activity, Study 2 tested whether making the opportunity costs salient caused less happiness to be reported from the activity than those in the control condition. These studies contribute to our understanding of the psychological consequences of thinking about time in terms of money and how it may influence the hedonic experience of activities people choose to undertake in the applied context of volunteering.     

When motivation is not enough: Effects of prosociality and organizational socialization in volunteers’ intention to continue volunteering

Retention of volunteers is a main issue for no‐profit organizations. In the present study, using a cross‐sectional design, determinants of volunteers’ intentions to continue their service were investigated in a sample of 116 volunteers at different Italian organizations (M_age = 42.32, SD_age = 15.91). Guided by the conceptual model of the volunteer process, we hypothesized that organizational socialization should mediate the link between prosocial personality and intention to continue volunteering. Results confirmed our prediction. Findings provide suggestions for organizations concerned about volunteers’ dropout that focus on ameliorating the socialization process of less prosocial volunteers in order to support their intention to remain in the organization.     

Intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivational orientations and the volunteer process

The present study incorporated the constructs of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation into an investigation of dispositional factors that contribute to volunteering. Recent research has conceptualized motivational tendencies as akin to personality variables, stable across time and situations. Volunteer motives, volunteer role identity, and prosocial personality were assessed, along with motivational orientation and time devoted to volunteering. Intrinsic motivation was positively associated with a volunteer self-concept, prosocial personality, volunteer time, and motive strength. This was particularly true for “internal” motives, those that are satisfied by the volunteer activity itself. Extrinsic orientation was most closely associated with “external” motives (specifically career aspirations), which require an outcome separate from the volunteer work in order to be fulfilled. The study was the first to consider constructs from the prevailing conceptual view of the volunteer process in the context of motivational orientation. The wider theoretical perspective offers insight into human behavior beyond volunteerism.     

Positive emotional expectations predict volunteer outcomes for new volunteers

Emotional expectations are likely to influence behavioral outcomes, even when entering novel situations. In the present study, it was proposed that positive emotional expectations would influence volunteer outcomes for new volunteers. New and experienced volunteers were recruited for a two-part longitudinal study. Study hypotheses were confirmed. The mere anticipation of positive emotions was able to predict volunteer outcomes for new volunteers. Emotional expectations (i.e., sympathy, satisfaction) were positively associated with intentions to continue volunteering, identification with the volunteer role, and predicted volunteer persistence 6 months later for new volunteers. For experienced volunteers, emotional expectations were only significantly and positively associated with volunteer role identity. Moreover, the intent to persist as a volunteer was found to have a stronger positive association with actual persistence for experienced volunteers than for new volunteers.     

Motivation as Mediator Between National Identity and Intention to Volunteer

Although there is a large volume of research on the relationship between social identity and volunteerism, little attention was given to national identity in volunteerism research. This study examined the role of national identity in motivating people to volunteer in the Chinese culture and its role in differentiating those who showed no interest in voluntary work (i.e. non‐volunteers) from those who wanted to volunteer but did not (i.e. potential volunteers). Two hundred ninety‐nine participants (age, M = 34.14 years) filled out a questionnaire on their demographics, experience of volunteering, intention to volunteer, volunteer motivations, and national identity. Results showed that a stronger national identity was associated with greater volunteer motivations. Mediation analyses further supported the positive indirect effect of national identity on intention to volunteer through strengthening volunteer motivations. Marital status was the only significant factor that differentiated current volunteers from potential volunteers. We concluded that citizens’ volunteer motivation increases with national identity, yet concrete measures to bring potential volunteers to actual volunteering need to be further explored. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

College Students and Community Service: Who,With Whom,and Why?

The community service volunteer vs. nonvolunteer status of 124 college students was examined in relation to motivation, gender, extraversion-introversion, and social anxiety. Volunteers and female students were hypothesized to have higher levels of motivation to participate than were nonvolunteers and males, and to have higher levels of interest in volunteering. The data for volunteer status and gender were significant only with respect to interest in volunteering, with volunteers and females significantly more interested in volunteering than were nonvolunteers and males. Gender differences were also found for volunteering style preference and participation within particular volunteer groups. Volunteers were also hypothesized to have lower levels of extraversion and higher levels of social anxiety than nonvolunteers because socially anxious introverts were thought to seek the anxiety-reducing structure of a volunteer activity. This hypothesis was not supported.     

Measuring Volunteers for Exciting Psychology Experiments With the Sensation-Seeking Scale

The sensation-seeking motive was first operationalized by Zuckerman, Kolin, Price, and Zoob (1964) with the development of the Sensation-Seeking Scale (SSS). One area of applied research in which the SSS has been used is the study of volunteering. In this area, evidence suggests that high-sensation seekers volunteer for exciting activities more often than low-sensation seekers, but not for unexciting activities. However, a problem with this research is that no empirical data has been obtained related to the subject's belief of the exciting nature of the activities. In this study, college students were given the most recent form of the SSS and were asked to volunteer for either or both of two studies. SSS scores were higher, p < .05, for volunteers than for nonvolunteers for a study that subjects rated as exciting, but did not differ for a study that subjects rated as unexciting. This demonstrates that volunteers for exciting studies, but not volunteers for unexciting studies, tend to be higher sensation seekers than nonvolunteers.     

Increasing volunteering at a residential facility: An experimental evaluation of a volunteer assistance program

A helpful component for comprehensive residential services for developmentally disabled persons is volunteer assistance. This investigation involved the evaluation of a program developed to increase the amount of volunteer assistance provided to a public residential facility. The program consisted of three types of related procedures: systematic volunteer recruitment steps, specific volunteer activities at the facility, and consequence/recognition for the volunteer assistance. The program was successively implemented to involve students as volunteers from two local universities, and resulted in an increase in new students volunteering from both universities. Additionally, the frequency with which the students volunteered at the residential facility increased substantially from both universities relative to control periods during which the volunteer program was not in effect. Results are discussed in terms of the benefits of volunteers and continued research to increase involvement of other prospective groups of volunteers.     

Antisocial and prosocial behavior among contemporary Robin Hoods

Sensation-seeking and related personality traits have been linked to both dedliquency and helping behavior. This suggests that certain stimulus-need characteristics are capable of producing both antisocial and prosocial behavior in the same individual. Forty-nine eigth-grade students in a midwest parochial school completed the Junior Eysenck Personality Inventory, the Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS) and a Deliquency Self-report Form. They were placed into either a low- or a high-stimulus condition, tested for a anxiety and sensation-seeking states and a given request to volunteer.As predicted, Deliquency scores were significantly related to the incidencee of volunteering. Volunteers and delinquents, especially drug users, had significantly higher SSS scores than nonvolunteers and nondelinquents. The high-stimulus condition also had a significantly higher proportion of volunteers. Other relationships were found between N and Anxiety, and E and SSS scores,. Results are discussed in terms of interaction of personality characteristics with stimulus conditions, the ‘Robin Hood Syndrome’ and treatment implications.     

Balance between volunteer work and family roles: Testing a theoretical model of work‐family conflict in the volunteer emergency services

Trends indicate overall declines in numbers of volunteer emergency service workers and suggest negative organisational factors impacting adversely on volunteers and organisations. Conflict between emergency service work and family is implicated in falling volunteer numbers, and there is thus a need for research on difficulties experienced in balancing volunteer work and family. The current study tested an adaptation of the work‐family conflict (WFC) model originally proposed by Frone, Russell, and Cooper, in a sample of 102 couples in which one partner was an Australian emergency service volunteer. Results supported a model in which volunteer work‐related antecedents, including time invested in on‐call emergency activities and post‐traumatic stress symptoms, had indirect links with outcomes, including volunteer burnout and their partners' support for the volunteer work role, through the effects of WFC. These results add to research using theoretical models of paid work processes to better understand the problems faced by volunteer workers, and identify specific antecedents and outcomes of WFC in the volunteer emergency services. Implications for future research and organisations reliant on volunteer workers are discussed.     

Can Self‐Determination Theory Explain the Self‐Perpetuation of Social Innovations? A Case Study of Slow Food at the University of Wisconsin—Madison

This case study of Slow Food at the University of Wisconsin—Madison (SFUW) examines the success of a volunteer social innovation that promotes sustainable food access. Using inductive thematic analysis of 19 in‐depth, semi‐structured interviews of past and current members, advisors, and collaborators, we find that the success of SFUW is consistent with Self‐Determination Theory. We find that among the participants, the organization satisfies the basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness, which in turn support intrinsic motivation. In this way, volunteering tasks become interesting, fun, and are more likely to be performed over time. The findings suggest that needs fulfillment and intrinsic motivation are linked to creating a self‐propagating social innovation where volunteers generate new ideas and successfully transfer skills to others. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.