Volunteerism in Nigeria

The theory of motivational attribution suggests that when people are aware that the victim of a misfortune is instrumental in his/her misfortune, they tend to withdraw their help. There are empirical studies supporting this theory, but none of these studies examined attribution of causality as a critical factor in willingness to volunteer through an organization. In situations where volunteers do not know who they help and the misfortune in question, attribution of causality may not be considered a factor in helping. For organizations that target specific misfortunes, attribution of causality may be a critical factor in joining the organization. In Nigeria's local communities where volunteering usually involves kin and neighbour concerns (example, Age Grade); where people have little, or no freedom, in choosing where to volunteer, and where volunteers usually know in advance who they should help and the kind of misfortune in question, to what extent would an individual's volunteer effort be felt, considering attributions of causality? This book presents the result of the inquiry into the question, implicating other variables such as help-givers' gender and perceived social distance