Some experts have proposed that a combination of personality factors creates an altruistic personality. Altruistic persons typically rate high on five different aspects of personality:
1) Empathy - involves an affective component (sympathy for another, a desire to solve the other's problem, feeling distress in response to others' distress, feeling what others feel), and a cognitive component, such as perspective taking. The affective component appears to be heritable, while the cognitive component is not.
2) Belief in a just world - involves perceptions that the world is fair and predictable, perceptions that good behavior is rewarded and bad behavior is punished, and a belief that helping others is the right thing to do
and will lead to rewards for the person who helps others.
3) Social responsibility - involves the belief that each person is responsible for helping others to the best of their ability.
4) Internal locus of control - involves the belief that we can choose to act in ways that maximize positive outcomes and minimize negative outcomes, and that our actions can affect outcomes in a desirable way.
5) Low egocentrism - involves the absence of self-absorption and competitiveness.
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