The role of personality features and wisdom in helping behaviors at the time of flooding

This study investigated the predictive role of temperament, character features, and wisdom functioning in helping and non-helping adult individuals at the time of flooding. The participants were assigned through a purposive sampling procedure and divided into two groups; one with a history of helping (N = 90) and the other without a history of helping (N = 90) at the time of flooding from six flooded cities, Khuzestan province, Iran. The mean age of the total sample was 29.0 years. A demographic questionnaire, the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI-125) and the Wisdom Multidimensional Scale (WMS) were used for data gathering. Analysis showed that individuals in helping group had higher harm avoidance and persistence subscales of temperament than individuals in non-helping group. Individuals in the helping group had greater performance in self-directedness, cooperativeness, and self-transcendence subscales of character than individuals in the non-helping group. Finally, individuals in the helping group had higher performances in openness, experience, interactional aptitude, and practical factors than individuals in the non-helping group. This study demonstrated the role of temperament, character, and wisdom in helping behavior during a crisis.

Automated summary

This study explored the predictive role of temperament, character features, and wisdom functioning in helping and non-helping adult individuals during flooding. The findings indicated that individuals in the helping group scored higher in temperament and character measures, as well as demonstrated better performance in wisdom functioning compared to those in the non-helping group.