Altruism and Interest in Literature among Secondary-Level Students: A Psycho-Cohesion Effect

The present study attempts to investigate the relationship between altruism and interest in literature among secondary-level students. The sample consisted of 400 students aged 14 years and above, selected from rural and urban higher secondary schools in Namakkal District, Tamil Nadu. An Altruism Scale adopted by the investigators and an Interest in Literature Scale developed by the investigators were used to assess the students' altruism and interest in literature, respectively. The findings revealed that female students were more altruistic and showed greater interest in literature than male students. The study also revealed a significant positive relationship between altruism and interest in literature. This finding was further supported by the observation that students with a high level of altruism demonstrated greater interest in literature than students with a low level of altruism. The regression analysis further indicated that interest in literature could be used as a predictor of altruism. The findings suggest that the cultivation of literary interest among secondary-level students may contribute to the development of empathy, internalized values, and altruistic behaviour.