Science Quickie: Awesome People Less Helpful

Want your kids to be more pro-social? Quit building their self-esteem!

That might be one message a person could extract from a recent finding on personality attributes and self-less behavior. In the words of one of the study authors, Wade Rowatt -

"Our discovery here is that the understudied trait of humility predicts helpfulness." [source]

Hmm. Humble people don't generally consider themselves to be awesome. And yet they are more likely to do awesomely good deeds. At least good in terms of the greater good of a group. As for personally awesome deeds, well, you have to turn to American Idol to witness those. (!)

Tags: culture, self-esteem, social psychology