D110

Altruism

BD08 Ethics & Values
Derived LayerMML-1

Version v1.2.4

Definition

A disposition to help others without expecting a return, including at meaningful personal cost.

Poles

Each HES element is a spectrum, not a category: the Low and High poles describe how it presents at its two extremes, while the Reference marks the typical, everyday middle. The poles map variation across the range — neither end is inherently better or worse.

Low Pole

Help is largely conditional on benefit, exchange, or low cost.

High Pole

Willing to help even when it is costly, provided the help is judged justified.

Reference

High altruism toward a narrow circle; limited outside it.

Measure

Primary: Cost — maximum personal resource (time/money/risk) the person will incur without compensation.

Measuring Methods

Graded-cost dilemmas + real-world helping data when available, normalized for resources.

Empirical Anchor

Altruism / altruistic behavior (Batson, 1991); empathy-altruism hypothesis; prosocial personality (Penner et al., 1995).

Notes

Different from kindness: altruism implies cost; kindness can be low-cost warmth.

Citation

APA

Human Elements System. (2026). Altruism (HES Passport D110, v1.2.4). hestable.com. https://hestable.com/passport/D110

BibTeX

@misc{hes_D110, author = {{Human Elements System}}, title = {{Altruism}}, year = {2026}, note = {HES Passport D110, v1.2.4}, howpublished = {\url{https://hestable.com/passport/D110}} }