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Personality Correlates of Heroic Rescue During the Holocaust
Author(s) -
Midlarsky Elizabeth,
Fagin Jones Stephanie,
Corley Robin P.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
journal of personality
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.082
H-Index - 144
eISSN - 1467-6494
pISSN - 0022-3506
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-6494.2005.00333.x
Subject(s) - psychology , personality , empathy , social psychology , the holocaust , locus of control , autonomy , immigration , altruism (biology) , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , philosophy , theology , archaeology , political science , law , history
This study investigated the extent to which personality variables can be used to discriminate non‐Jewish heroes of the Holocaust from bystanders and from a comparison group of prewar European immigrants who left their countries of origin prior to World War II. Eighty verified rescuers, 73 bystanders, and 43 immigrants were administered measures of locus of control, autonomy, risk taking, social responsibility, tolerance/authoritarianism, empathy, and altruistic moral reasoning. A three‐group discriminant function analysis was able to correctly classify 80.2% of the sample by a combination of personality and demographic variables. When the bystanders and immigrants, who differed very little from each other, were grouped together and compared to the rescuers, the personality variables alone correctly classified 93.1% of the sample. Implications regarding the relationship between personality and altruistic behavior, as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.