Altruism, Motivation to Serve, and Purpose in Life Among College Students

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between altruism, motivation to serve, and purpose in life. Participants were 326 undergraduates pursuing majors in psychology, social work, interdisciplinary liberal studies (teaching degree), marketing, accounting, computer science, and nursing. Similarities and differences were noted between majors, so psychology, social work, and interdisciplinary liberal studies majors were grouped together as “others-directed” majors, while marketing, accounting, and computing science majors were grouped together as “jobs-directed” majors. Nursing majors were distinct from the other two groups. Correlational analyses revealed significant positive correlations between all dependent variables. A one-way ANOVA revealed differences between others-directed, jobs-directed, and nursing majors regarding altruism and motivation to serve, but not regarding purpose in life. Higher scores with all variables were seen between those who had served compared to those who had not served, regardless of the reason for serving. Implications for higher education regarding the relationship between service learning and life meaning are discussed.