Me, myself and I : the perceptions of psychological egoism by the Maltese

Abstract

Maltese perceptions on psychological egoism were explored in this study. An instrument, which consisted of 4 short semi-structured interviews, was produced and subsequently used in a focus group from which the research data was collected. University students from different faculties were recruited through self-selection sampling for the focus group. Thematic Analysis was used to elicit the themes that were thought to be of importance to the study, from the focus group. The major themes highlighted were the following. Maltese people perceive self-motivation to be present behind all human actions, internal rewards are more motivating than external ones, and the influence Maltese culture such as Religion and the family have on individuals, was also pointed out by the respondents. This study provides an understanding of the Maltese perceptions on human behaviour with regards to altruism and charitable acts.