Research altruism as motivation for participation in community-centered environmental health research

Jennifer S. Carrera, Phil Brown, Julia Green Brody and Rachel Morello-Frosch

Social Science & Medicine, 2018, vol. 196, issue C, 175-181

Abstract: Protection of human subjects in research typically focuses on extrinsic rather than intrinsic motivations for participation in research. Recent sociological literature on altruism suggests that multiple kinds of altruism exist and are grounded in a sense of connection to common humanity. We interviewed participants in eight community-centered research studies that sampled for endocrine disrupting compounds and that shared research findings with participants. The results of our analysis of participation in these studies indicate that altruistic motivations were commonly held. We found that these sentiments were tied to feeling a sense of connection to society broadly, a sense of connection to science, or a sense of connection with the community partner organization. We develop a new concept of banal altruism to address mundane practices that work towards promoting social benefits. Further, we offer that research altruism is a specific type of banal altruism that is a multi-faceted and important reason for which individuals choose to participate in community-centered research.

Keywords: United States; Community-centered research; Altruism; Participation in research; Intrinsic motivation; Environmental health; Community partners; Trust (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:socmed:v:196:y:2018:i:c:p:175-181

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DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.11.028

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