Altruism at Hanover College:The Return Rates of Letters for

Students, Faculty, and Staff

By: Michaelia Gilbert

Robyn Hooker

&

Sarah LeStourgeon

Lost Letters

The act of altruism is one’s helpfulness towards another without any promise of reward or benefit to the altruistic subject.

Return rates are higher in smaller, rural communities rather than larger communities (Bridges et. al., 2000).

Return rates are similar for males and females, and older participants more likely to return letters than younger participants (Gabor and Thomas, 1989).

Furthermore, as Bihm, Gaudet, and Sale (1978) found with lost letters, the gender of the owner of the lost letter and the gender of the finder have a significant impact on

whether the lost letter is returned.

Hypotheses

Hypothesis 1: Female students more likely to return letters than male students.

Hypothesis 2: Faculty/staff more likely to return lost letters than students.

Hypothesis 3: Participants will be more likely to return open letters than closed letters.

Methods

40 faculty letters 20 open/20 closed

40 student letters 20 male

10 open/ 10 closed 20 female

10 open/10 closed Dropped letters in bathrooms of unisex dorms and

campus buildings, sororities, fraternities and faculty lounges

Counted letters returned to our school mailboxes

2006-02-13Joe Smith517 Ball Dr.Hanover, IN 46743

Dear Joe Smith:Congratulations!Please allow me to take this opportunity in congratulating you on your recent acceptance into the internship program with SMR, Inc. As we recently discussed, the internship program that you are currently enrolled in is unpaid and requires 160 hours of service hood throughout the summer. We're looking for eager people who can do fast and detailed research. As we noted before, the most successful interns have an interest in marketing, writing, editing, advertising, human resources, or graphic design. Must be energetic, analytical, work well under deadlines, and are able to juggle many projects. We look forward to seeing you in our offices as we know that you will provide many beneficial advantages to our company. If you decide to accept the invitation into the program, you will need to reply within the next seven business days. Your response can be sent through mail, e-mail or fax. Our best wishes for continuing success!Sincerely,SMR, Inc.Assistant Director

Results: Faculty/Staff vs Students

chi square (1) = 9.448, p = .002

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100

Student Faculty/Staff

Nu

mb

er

of

Le

tte

rs R

etu

rne

d

Male vs Female Students

Chi square (1) = 8.485, p = .004

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100

Female Student Male Student

Nu

mb

er

of

Le

tte

rs R

etu

rne

d

Open vs Closed Letters

Chi square (1) =.056, p = .813

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100

OpenLetters

ClosedLettersP

erc

en

tag

e o

f O

pe

n/C

los

ed

Le

tte

rs

Re

turn

ed

Discussion

Females are more likely to be altruistic than males in anonymous situations May be more generous and/or have more pressure to adhere to

social norms (avoid guilt).

Faculty/staff are more likely to be altruistic than students in an anonymous situation. May be because they are older and more mature; it is more likely

they have been in the situation of losing something that needed returned.

The overall percentage of altruistic behavior was disappointing

Discussion

Limitations

Small campus

Time letter is dropped

Small Sample size

Non-serious Situation

Future Recommendations

It would probably be best to conduct this study on a larger college campus.

Measure more conditions

Compare with other tests of altruistic behavior