Washington, Jan 3 (IANS) Humble people rather than egotistical individuals are likely to be more forthcoming with helping others.

A person’s decision to help the needy is influenced by temporary personal or situational factors such as time pressure, number of bystanders, momentary feelings of empathy or a person’s own distress, said Wade C. Rowatt who led the study.

“The research indicates that humility is a positive quality with potential benefits,” said Rowatt, associate professor of psychology and neuroscience in Baylor’s College of Arts & Sciences, the Journal of Positive Psychology reports.

“While several factors influence whether people will volunteer to help a fellow human in need, it appears that humble people, on average, are more helpful than individuals who are egotistical or conceited,” he added, according to a Baylor’s College statement.

The research is based on three studies of college students. “Our discovery here is that the understudied trait of humility predicts helpfulness,” the researcher said.

“Important next steps will be to figure out whether humility can be cultivated and if humility is beneficial in other contexts such as scientific and medical advancements or leadership development,” he added.