Objectives: Personality factors were used to explore aspects of blood donor behaviour (a form of prosocial volunteer behaviour). Based on the Big 5 model of personality, a number of mediation (via perceived control) and moderation hypotheses linking personality to aspects of blood donor behaviour (frequency, recency, rate and years of past behaviour) were explored.
Design: A cross-section quasi-experimental survey of 630 blood donors.
Method: Prior to donation, 630 donors completed measures of the Big 5 personality domains and donor history (frequency, recency, rate and years of past behaviour); after donation, they indicated levels of perceived procedural and emotional control.
Results: There was no evidence that perceived control mediates the relationship between personality and behaviour. However, donors were able to express control in a low control context. For males, the relationship between years as a donor and both the frequency and the rate of donation were stronger for those higher in conscientiousness (C), whereas for females, emotional stability (ES) acted as the moderator. Recency and frequency of past behaviour were orthogonal.
Discussion: The results extend previous work by showing that C (for males) and ES (for females) help to sustain behaviour over time. The recency and frequency of past behaviour assess qualitatively different aspects of past behaviour and this should be explored in future studies. These results have important practical implications for designing donor recruitment and retention interventions.