The research examines how people present themselves as both victims and morally good (“virtuous victims”) and finds that this kind of signaling can lead others to give them help or resources without expecting anything in return. The studies show that individuals with certain personality traits especially those linked to manipulation, narcissism, and low empathy (the […]

This paper tests how religion relates to helping strangers, an important but rarely studied measure of social solidarity and informal social capital. It uses the Gallup World Poll, a survey with nationally representative samples of 179,961 respondents from 126 countries. It finds that religious people, members of minority religions, and people in religiously diverse countries

This study explores how both a person’s own religiosity and the overall religious environment of their country influence volunteering. It finds that individuals who attend church frequently are generally more likely to volunteer, and living in a more religious country also increases overall volunteering levels. However, the gap between religious and nonreligious people is much

For decades, technology has been dramatically changing not just the lives of individuals in developed countries, but increasingly the lives and livelihoods of people throughout the developing world. Whether it is a community mobile phone, a solar panel, a new farming practice, or a cutting-edge medical device, technology is altering the landscape of possibility in

This study looked at how being involved in religion during adolescence such as attending services or praying/meditating that relates to different aspects of life later in young adulthood. Following thousands of participants over many years, the researchers found that teens who attended religious services at least weekly, or regularly prayed or meditated, tended to report