Nexus Between Emotional Intelligence and Altruism as a Matter of Compassion for Others

Researchers have been called upon to devote more scholarly attention to what emotional intelligence can predict. Therefore, in the study reported here, we attempted to fill an important gap in the literature by investigating the proximate relationship between emotional intelligence and altruism, with compassion for others as a mechanism underlying the link between these two variables. Participants were male and female undergraduates of a federal university who provided self-report data of the variables being examined. The data generated were subjected to ordinary least squares (OLS) regression-based path analysis using PROCESS for SPSS macro. The results were consistent with our hypothesized model as emotional intelligence was positively related to both compassion for others and altruism, while compassion for others was also positively related to altruism. Compassion for others also mediated the positive relationship between emotional intelligence and altruism. Therefore, university management can devise strategies with which to develop undergraduates' emotional abilities and compassion for others in order to raise individuals who could turn out to be their brother's keeper.