Altruistic Love Related to Happier Marriages (science dude: Selfish people don't make good spouses)

Altruism may breed better marriages, a new study suggests. Or, the data might mean that good marriages make people more altruistic.

"Altruistic love was associated with greater happiness in general and especially with more marital happiness," concludes Tom Smith of the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago in a report released today.

Study participants were asked whether they agreed with statements that define altruism, such as, "I'd rather suffer myself than let the one I love suffer," and "I'm willing to sacrifice my own wishes to let the one I love achieve his or hers."

Those who agreed with the statements tended to also report happiness with their spouses.

Among the more altruistic, 67 percent rated their own marriage as "very happy." Among those who were profiled as the least altruistic, only 50 percent said they were very happy in marriage.

And here's one for those of you who're still waiting for your partner to commit: Forty percent of the married people ranked near the top for altruistic responses, while only 20 percent of those who had never married did so. The divorced and separated came in at around 25 percent.

The study asked dozens of questions to gauge both altruistic intentions and behaviors. How often do you give blood? Do you return money when a cashier makes a mistake in your favor?

In a separate finding, Smith looked at a similar study from 2002 and found that altruistic feelings are on the rise. The number of people having "tender, concerned feelings toward the less fortunate" rose 5 percent, to 75 percent.

"People have been suffering more negative life events than in the past and as such there is greater need for caring and assistance," he said. "Likewise, there is greater disparity between the rich and the poor with the lot of the former, but not of the latter, improving in recent years."

But Smith said connection between romantic love and altruistic behavior probably comes from an appreciation of love developed in a healthy marriage and reflects the connection between marriage and love in general, which is part of the teachings of many religions.

The study found that people who pray every day performed, on average, 77 acts of altruism a year vs. 60 for those who never pray.

Altruistic love scores were higher for women who are homemakers than women who work outside the home. Men scored higher than women. "This may be because there is an element of heroic stoicism and being a protector," Smith writes in the report.

Smith also analyzed empathy, described as feeling protective of others or concerned for the less fortunate. Some of the findings:

Women have a greater feeling of empathy than men. Children from two-parent homes are more empathetic. Girls raised by a single father are the least likely to develop empathy. Financial status bears little on altruism or empathy. People who vote are more empathetic and altruistic. Empathy is higher among those who fear crime. Empathy is higher among those who support increased spending on social programs. The research was based on data from in-home surveys conducted every two years with support from the National Science Foundation. Smith used data from the 2004 survey, of 1,329 adults, and compared it to the 2002 results.

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Here is the next question. How does one measure altruism ?

And, Does altruism include letting someone suffer the consequences of their actions in order to make them a more responsible person in the future ?

Is spanking a child even when one would prefer to spoil him altruistic ?

Altruism from a female`s perspective:

' What`s yours is mine and what`s mine is mine. '

How about one altruist and one selfish schlub??? The altruist gets off on making the schlub happy, and the schlub is happy getting everything he/she wants.....

Then again, consider the Clintons, where he is obviously the extremely selfish schlub, and she is not so much an altruist as another selfish schlub willing to sacrifice her self-respect in pursuit of power.... what do the scientists say about THAT relationship??

4 posted on 02/10/2006 3:18:15 PM PST by Enchante (Democrats: "We are ALL broken and worn out, our party & ideas, what else is new?")

5 posted on 02/10/2006 3:43:17 PM PST by Alexander Rubin (Octavius - You make my heart glad building thus, as if Rome is to be eternal.)

"...what do the scientists say about THAT relationship??"
One knoledgeable and experienced person [he was not a scientist, but on the "pursuit of power" topic he knew a thing or two - his name was Vladimir Lenin] coined the term "political prostitute".

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