4 Qualities of Extraordinary Altruists

Had a stranger not shown extreme altruism, Abigail Marsh might not have survived to share her story.

Source: Taras Makarenko/Pexels

We’ve likely all experienced the kindness of a stranger, but what can we learn from the minority of true heroes that help others at a substantial personal cost?

Before she was a neuroscience researcher, Abigail Marsh was in a nearly fatal car mishap. While attempting to dodge a darting dog along an eight-lane freeway, her vehicle began to fishtail. Before she knew it, she had spun into the fast lane of the oncoming traffic. When the car stopped and she got her bearings, it wouldn’t turn on. The car was stuck on a part of the road not visible to drivers until they swerved around the corner. She knew it was only a matter of time until another driver failed to notice her.

As she began to panic, a man approached her passenger window and offered assistance. Despite the potential danger, the stranger got into her car and managed to start it, driving them both to safety. Had the man not intervened, Marsh might not have survived to share her story.

What caused the man to pull over and help? And would we do the same had we passed Marsh that winter midnight? Many people in our lives are kind, generous, and full of wisdom. But would they be classified as an Altruist with a capital A?

Altruists are people who do good for others without any thought of how it may benefit them. They simply care about the welfare of others—no strings attached. Marsh tells us,

The world is absolutely bursting with people who have committed moving acts of altruism. They volunteer to help needy animals or children or the mentally ill. They donate money to strangers in faraway cities or countries. They open up their veins to give their blood to the sick or injured. They remove garments from their own bodies to clothe impoverished people in their communities—sometimes in real time.

Marsh considers these acts ordinary. It’s not uncommon for us humans to be generous toward one another. After all, we’ve evolved to engage in reciprocal altruism. Our early ancestors who helped others in hopes that they would return the favor were more likely to survive and reproduce. We’ve also evolved to practice kin altruism, which makes it more likely for our offspring to survive and carry on our bloodline.

But how do we make sense of heroic acts toward complete strangers? Especially ones who have no way of ever paying us back? Marsh describes this type of altruism as extraordinary. Would you make the cut?

Signs That You Could Be an Extraordinary Altruist

You’ve done something exceptional for someone you didn’t know. To meet Marsh’s definition of an extraordinary altruist, you would need to have committed a generous act for someone where:

• The recipient was someone unrelated to you and unknown to you at the time you decided to act.
• The behavior required a personal risk or cost to you.
• The act wasn’t something you were required or expected to do.

Marsh decided to study a tiny fraction of the U.S. population—people who had donated a kidney anonymously to a stranger. This unique group certainly qualifies as having demonstrated extraordinary altruism. The following are some characteristics of extraordinary altruists:

You don’t believe humans can be truly evil. You may have assumed that extraordinary altruists show higher levels of empathy or religiosity compared to typical populations—but little evidence has been found to support these differences. Interestingly, Amormino et al. (2022) did find that altruists scored lower on the Belief in Pure Evil scale compared to controls. This included items such as, “Some people are just pure evil” and “Evil people harm others for the joy of it.” The researchers found that even after “controlling for empathy and religiosity, for every one-unit decrease in belief in pure evil, the odds of classification as an altruistic donor increased by 31%."

You’re good at detecting others’ fear. Researchers have found that altruists have larger and more active amygdalae compared to control samples. The amygdala is an almond-shaped structure in the limbic system that aids in emotion processing, especially in detecting fear and threat. It may be that the better we can recognize fear in others, the more equipped we are to act and alleviate their distress.¹

You don’t see yourself as special. Altruists don’t see themselves as anything but ordinary. While altruists score lower on beliefs in pure evil, they were no different than controls to believe that humans can be purely good. Many of us would likely classify anonymous kidney donors as the select few who qualify as all good, yet altruists see no distinction between themselves and others.

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Marsh decided to study a tiny fraction of the US population—people who had donated a kidney anonymously to a stranger. This unique group certainly qualifies as having demonstrated extraordinary altruism.

Source: Frank Merino/Pexels

Perhaps it is this last characteristic that truly makes them unique. Altruists don’t view the world in terms of “us versus them.” There is no othering, nor hierarchies. There are no lines separating groups by deservingness. What sets extraordinary altruists apart is their ability to recognize the inherent value in all people and to act on that recognition, even at personal cost.

As the study of human nature progresses, it’s important to keep an open mind. Altruism has largely been examined through limited data sets, such as the population of kidney donors who were few and not randomly selected. Yet, Marsh’s story serves as a powerful reminder that acts of extraordinary altruism can have a profound impact on the lives of others. While we may not have the opportunity or ability to donate a kidney anonymously, there are still many ways we can prioritize the welfare of others.

Even though I don't consider myself an exceptional altruist, I’m learning. I envision a world filled with exceptional altruists, and the thought is exhilarating. Each small act of kindness can lead us on the path to remarkable heroism.

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