The most altruistic people in the United States live in small
and medium-sized cities in the Southeast, according to a study by
psychologist Robert V. Levine of California State University at
Fresno, noted in The Wilson Quarterly (Summer
2003). The South’s traditional relaxed way of life, which probably
endures in these smaller cities, may be the explanation. Levine
found that on the international level, the pace of life turned out
to be key in determining who was most likely to retrieve and return
a dropped pen, for instance, or mail a stamped and addressed letter
found on the sidewalk. Rio de Janeiro residents were the world’s
most altruistic; folks in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, were the least
likely to help.
