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28-07-2020 | ORIGINAL PAPER

Personality Correlates of Compassion: a Cross-Cultural Analysis

Auteurs: Vanessa M. Sinclair, Gabriela Topa, Donald Saklofske

Gepubliceerd in: Mindfulness | Uitgave 10/2020

Abstract

Objectives

Compassion for others is linked to positive outcomes ranging from stress reduction to prosocial behaviour. However, the personality traits that contribute to compassion have not been well established. We sought to explore the individual differences most strongly related to dispositional compassion in Canada and Spain using the HEXACO model of personality.

Methods

Canadian (N = 555; 75.8% women) and Spanish (N = 371; 60.8% women) adults aged 17 to 68 years completed the HEXACO-60 personality inventory, a trait emotional intelligence (EI) scale, and a measure of compassion for others using online survey software. The factor structure and cultural invariance of the compassion measure were assessed, and regression analyses were calculated to determine the strongest predictors of compassion.

Results

In both samples, emotionality was the strongest predictor of compassion, accounting for about 10% of the unique variance in scores. Trait EI, honesty-humility, and openness also predicted compassion, while agreeableness was significant only among Canadians, suggesting there is at least one cross-cultural difference in personality antecedents.

Conclusions

Emotionality and emotional intelligence were strongly linked to compassionate individuals in two distinct cultures, and honesty-humility and openness were weakly predictive as well. Agreeableness was only related among Canadians, suggesting that while the degree to which agreeableness predicts compassion is dependent on the cultural context, the personality antecedents of compassion are similar across cultures.

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Titel: Personality Correlates of Compassion: a Cross-Cultural Analysis
Auteurs: Vanessa M. Sinclair
Gabriela Topa
Donald Saklofske
Publicatiedatum: 28-07-2020
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Mindfulness / Uitgave 10/2020
Print ISSN: 1868-8527
Elektronisch ISSN: 1868-8535
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-020-01459-7

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Abstract

Objectives

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Conclusions

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