Actively Caring About the Actively Caring Survey: Evaluating the Reliability and Validity of a Measure of Dispositional Altruism

Geller’s Actively Caring Survey (ACS) was theorized to measure person states deemed necessary to “Actively Care” or act altruistically toward others. Empirical research of the ACS has been limited, and this researcher sought to evaluate its reliability, validity, and factorial consistency. Undergraduate students (n = 1,095) completed the measure online. Hypotheses were partially supported. Unrotated primary component analysis found the ACS to be a unitary measure with 73.3% of the items loading onto the first factor. The ACS showed excellent internal consistency. Convergent and divergent validity with existing measures (i.e., the Big 5 Personality, Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability, Cognitive Failures Questionnaire, Barratt Impulsiveness, and Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Venturesomeness scales) was found in 88.9% of the predicted relationships; the ACS was negatively correlated with social desirability. An abbreviated ACS revision produced similar findings. Future studies should evaluate the measure in nonstudent populations, use clinical and industrial settings, and explore predictive validity