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Cal Poly Humboldt Digital Commons @ Cal Poly Humboldt Moral Exemplars Study Oliner Altruism Research Archive May 2024 Moral Exemplars of Note - Dr. Susan Osborn Sam and Pearl Oliner Altruistic Behavior Institute Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/moral-exemplars  Part of the Holocaust and Genocide Studies Commons, Jewish Studies Commons, and the Political History Commons Recommended Citation Oliner, Sam and Pearl, "Moral Exemplars of Note - Dr. Susan Osborn" (2024). Moral Exemplars Study. 12. https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/moral-exemplars/12 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Oliner Altruism Research Archive at Digital Commons @ Cal Poly Humboldt. It has been accepted for inclusion in Moral Exemplars Study by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Cal Poly Humboldt. For more information, please contact kyle.morgan@humboldt.edu. 1MORAL EXEMPLARS ATTITUDE SURVEYTranscriber's Name:Farnad DarnellInterviewer's Name: Greg GibsonRespondent's Name: Dr. Susan OsbornRespondent No: 038Date of Interview: 02-06-021. Respondent's ethnic background: (1) White2. Age: 443. Place of Birth: Petersburg, VA4. Gender:(2) Female5. Number of Siblings: 3-(a) Brothers:(b) Sisters: 3 half sisters6. Highest educational level attained: (7) Advanced Degree - Doctor of Osteopathy7. What did you major in? Art; BS in biology; MA - biochemistry and nutrition; osteopathy medicine8. Occupation: Doctor9. Married: (2) No (common law marriage)10. Do you have children? (1) YesIf “Yes”, How Many: 1 boy (6 years old)11. Mother's Occupation: chronic pain patient; teacher12. Father's Occupation: electric engineer and management13. Religion: (9) Agnostic, but seeking213a. Level of Religiosity: (2) somewhat13b. Spiritual Person: (1) yesIf “Yes”, explain: I hope that I'm a spiritual person. Some people believe that we will find out at the end of our lives, after a period of time, whether we've been successful spiritual people or not.If that happens, I hope the higher power has a good sense of humor.I. Why is that?R. It depends a lot more on my sense of what is right and wrong rather than a particular set of writings and teachings. Perhaps we get that from a particular set of writings and teachings. I guess it doesn't come in a void.I. If you were going to speak to a group of young people, or students, what would you say is a spiritual person?R. Well, one might say a spiritual person was a portentous person who believed they had spiritual guidance for all that they do, and therefore spiritual permission to do whatever they wanted to do, whether it hurt people or not. I would not like to be in that definition.I. Is there another definition that you would like to be in?R. I guess the other definition would be that there's more to us than just chemicals, and our bodies, and whatever electrical processes make up our mind. That would be nice to think that there is another part; a spiritual part of us.14. Approximate individual income: (1) less than $10,00015. Political party affiliation: (1) Democrat. I like to think that I think independently16. What are the most important lessons about life that you learned from your parents?R. My parents taught that honesty was very important. I don't know if that was right or not; it may have set up an unrealistic expectation of life.I. How so?R. I don't think that's how the rest of the world operates. It also leaves one to expect honesty from other human beings, and sometimes that's not a realistic expectation. That's kind of a basis; how one structures their life. We do things and are honest about them, and sometimes suffer theconsequences of what society thinks about that. Life seems a lot easier if you just tell people what they want to hear. I think that's probably the main value.My stepfather thought you work for the company, you don't ask questions, and bring home money, and that should be good enough. Somehow I don't see how that can exist within that same person as the honesty thing; that it can come from the same person. They believed ineducation. They also seemed to believe that people who were not educated were happier.3Strange juxtaposition of values. One went to church, one didn't. I think that they taughtconformity, that it was easier. If you conformed to society, that life would be pleasant and have fewer confrontations. So I think they were teaching conformity is good.A. Moral Objectives or Goals17. What would you say you spend most of your energy on at this time in your life?R. Listening to patients.I. Are there certain types of patients? Is your practice general?R. It is a family practice. We have a lot of mental health issues. Sometimes I think I'm a psychiatrist. I confront almost everything, unless I'm just taking a mole off of somebody, or even the person who comes in to get their blood pressure checked, there's a mental component.I. So you spend most of your time listening to patients. Anything else that you spend your energy on?R. Trying to keep the office open. That's probably the number two activity - trying to keep the books and employees happy, and trying to keep the place of closing down.18. How long have you been involved with this helping activity?R. I started medical school in 1982, so 20 years. I had actually started on an amateur basis back inhigh school when I started participating in an inner-city reading program. I think that was my first experience, hanging out with a bunch of renegade Catholics, who my parents did not approve. They were worried about social repercussions of hanging out with Catholics.19. Regarding the activities that you mentioned above, what are your goals?R. To create a clinic that exists into the future; is then not only physically, but also emotionally, bythe community, and something that this clinic would address the social needs that are not being addressed from our county, and the lot of society as a whole.I would also like to have a studio and paint.I. What would you paint?R. I used to do portraits. But when I do it again, I would like to do it on my own terms, and not to paint to please someone, but just to capture the essence of people I liked, people I knew and admired; do live sittings, and enjoy the way light falls on objects, people.And somewhere in between there, one of the functions of the clinic would be to teach people how to be in health care and not lose their minds, so we would be helping the next generation be more sane.419a. Which of these goals would you consider essentially moral goals?R. I've been studying the roots of the word “moral,” and I haven't checked it out, but someone said that we got the word “moral” from the Moors; that was actually not in the language until the Islamic influence in the Middle East. I was thinking about that the other day, about the Islamic communities being maligned in the news, and the popular American culture that I'm surroundedby - that they could have brought the entire concept of morality to our culture. I'll have to checkit out when I have some time.I. I went ahead and looked it up, if you don't mind, and I show an origin of 1500, from Latin, morales. So I don't know if that helps.R. If the goals of the clinic are to help a homeless family that comes through the door, not only with medication and their physical needs, but also with housing and mental health and essentially teaching people to be constructive members of society, I think that's a moral issue. Cause immorality to me is turning your back and saying, “That's not my problem.” “I don't know any homeless people,” or “They're just lazy.” Washing one's hands of it, or saying, “I would never be there. I'm safe.” I've seen all kinds of fill-in-the-blank notions as to why one would be safe from these terrible things that happen to people. But in reality we're not. We all could be there, so it's essentially caring for one's fellow man.19b. You've mentioned a number of goals, objectives, and values. Do these (or some of these)contribute to your sense of who you are as a person?R. I guess if I didn't have these goals I would be a different kind of person.I. Maybe you could offer an example of how some of these things contribute to who you are as a person: maybe through a daily activity, whatever, for you.R. I come to the clinic daily, and work from 8:30 until I finish at night, sometime between 5 and 8.I'm not paid to do this. The alternative is I could go work for $95 an hour at the local emergency room. So why don't I go do that other thing? What keeps me from doing it? I guess it's because it's who I am; that's my identity. Or I'm very, very crazy. I have been accused of being mentallyill.I. Anything else on that...in terms of all these things that we've mentioned, the goals that don't represent the money, the power, the prestige, and how in the world it's easier to complain?Anything else of yours, in terms of your goals, objectives, and your values, that contribute to a sense of who you are as a person?R. There's a lot of pieces to that. The piece of being an adopted child; piece of being a child of achronic pain patient - hearing complaints of how doctors were not filling the healthcare needs of the community - constantly growing up; a piece of knowing what homelessness is like, knowing poverty personally; of knowing what it means to be an abused spouse. Those are all pieces.19c. What kinds of things make it difficult to reach these goals?5R. These goals do not represent money or power, or even prestige most of the time. And it seems society celebrates those things. We see the people who have money getting their projects funded; people who appear to have power getting support from their community; people that have prestige being respected in the community. Sometimes the work that we do is seen with suspicion, associated with shady characters. That is a large roadblock; it is a roadblock of the community believing that it can happen. It is easier to complain, so that roadblock of minds being stuck, and these problems will always exist - there's nothing that we can do about them. That's the biggest one.I. Are these things that you've encountered?R. Every day.I. Would you mind giving me an example of one you've encountered?R. Trying to get on staff at the nursing home in the small town where I grew up. It took me fouryears to get on staff at a nursing home. Usually I walk in, say I'm a doctor, and they say, “Oh, thank goodness you're here!” Why? Because of suspicion, or fear, or the thought that letting me on staff might cause something to change. Why are we afraid of change? Who knows. You don't get a printout now.I. What do you think it is about you that they have that issue?R. I don't know. Maybe I wear funny clothes. I don't know. I offered to apply to work at the free clinic. I worked at the free clinic at Richmond, the capital city of our state, and help them start a homeless shelter clinic, and this one turned me down. Wrote me a letter of rejection. I got interviewed by a bunch of white guys with suits, things usually go badly for me when I get interviewed by white guys in suits. They looked at my resume and said, “How come you can't hold a job?” Which I thought my resume was full of delightful short-term projects showing a lot of experience with the homeless and the poor. But that's not how it looked to this community. What were they afraid of? Me offering to work for free - a licensed physician? It's hard to tell. People rarely tell you. One fellow on our community board said that he was an ex-police officer, and his signals were firing, that something dishonest must be going on in the clinic. Why? Cause we're poor? I don't get it. Is it because I'm a woman? Is it because I'm an osteopathic doctor in a state where there are not many osteopathic physicians? I don't know. Is it because I'm honest and tell people the truth as best I can? Could be that - very unpopular. Lord only knows.B. Moral Action20. What are you currently doing to try to achieve these objectives, and what have you done in thepast?R. I keep trying to get the community together. Get representatives on a community board to start the process. That has been a big task. Board members don't want to be a part of a clinic that doesn't seem like it has a lot of money; it may not be financially stable. They're worried that there might be some kind of financial loss; that they might suffer personally. I tried this in Richmond, and I could not get a board together. I tried it in Floyd, partially by spending money by paying people to assemble the board, and did this together. I don't know how long this will6last. I don't know how long I'll be able to get the grants, and it may die. But if I took it over, it would be my thing; it wouldn't be the community's project. It has to be more than just a single doctor's office.I. What things have you done, maybe in the past, to achieve those goals (the painting studio and teaching future healthcare workers to not go crazy), or what things are you currently doing?R. Teaching is part of putting the clinic together.I. And where does the teaching take place?R. For one thing, every encounter with a patient is teaching. And as we grow as a clinic, we get more students. We actively encourage the staff to continue their education. We ask everyone to become certified as an EMT; that puts them in the healthcare community; it gives them a license, a certificate. We try to get people over the hurdle of leaving. They have no certification we canteach them to be nurse's aids. All the way up to....I teach doctors, cardiac surgeons advancedtrauma life support; I teach advanced cardiac life support and pediatric advances life support, to doctors and nurses. And in the meantime, in the town next to our county, and osteopathic medical school is being built in a couple of years, so it will be crawling with medical students.And that will be fun. I'm sure they will approach us - if I'm successful at getting the non-profitclinic all together, that they will seek us out as a role rotation; another thing to do for free.The painting, when we moved to Floyd, we bought a small piece of property in the community,intentional community, and we're trying to buy the house that we're renting. We have plans forsome day building a studio onto that house.21. Can you tell me about an incident in your life where you weren't sure about the right course ofaction? How did it become clear to you what to do?R. That happens very often. Thinking of one incident is hard; and how do you know if you've donethe right thing, cause you never know if it was the right thing or the wrong thing. How do you know these things? When I met my current partner, it was important to him to have a child (hewanted to have lots of children). And I didn't really know if that fit into my plans - into all this clinic building, into all this society's problems. But then again, I had a couple of ovaries, they were perfectly good. I figured, “Why waste them?” So I had a baby. I really wasn't sure if that was the right thing to do or not. Mother Teresa didn't have a baby. She focused on her work.But now I know it was the right thing to do.I. How did it become clear to you what to do?R. My belly kept growing, and it got clearer every day. There's no way out of it. Sometimes in life what you do is the only thing you can do. You've chosen an irreversible course.I. Was there a decision beforehand to have child?R. Oh yes, there was a conscious decision to have the child.I. If you were weighing it, how did it become clear?7R. Asking the universe, or the greater powers, or knowing that I was coming to the end of my period of fertility, it was just as likely I would not have become pregnant. So I was playing Russian roulette with the universe: “Okay, if I got pregnant at this point, I keep her.”I. You said you have lots of examples. Do you have another one?R. A patient today is on probation; he's the father of the homeless family. He just got out of jail, hecame in, said that he was feeling really nervous - nerves were bad - and if I didn't give him a prescription for valium, he was going to go home and beat his wife. I knew that it was possible because that was one of the reasons he went to jail before. His wife had called saying that he needed some kind of narcotic for pain. I knew this family was also high risk for abusing medication; possibly selling their medication cause they don't have jobs. So what's the right thing to do? Do I relieve the person's suffering? Or do I protect them from abusing the medication, which would create more suffering in the long run? That is the dilemma.I. And how did it become clear what to do?R. Sometimes trial and error. I tried it in the past. He still beat his wife. It didn't help. Soexperience taught that now it's not gonna work. And I was honest with him. I said, “We tried that before. It didn't work. You kept using all the drugs and you still became violent. It's time now to learn how to do this without drugs. And we chose some less dangerous medications. He did not leave completely happy, and his wife looked even more unhappy. But afterwards, the man mentioned that his wife had been snorting the previous medication. So it became clear, he let me know, that I had made the right decision.22. What does the phrase “moral courage” mean to you? Would you say that when you faced the difficulties you described you demonstrated moral courage? Were there times when you think you were a coward?R. I don't know. You do it because that's the course that you've chosen. By weighing thealternatives, if you then turn and do the other thing, would that be moral cowardice? Maybe you would just be wrong. Once you get that message, from wherever it comes from that this is the right thing to do, to not listen to that message isn't good. Is it moral courage to listen to that message? I don't know. It seems more like humility to me. Humility seems to be the message. Courage, I would think about that in a different instance.I. Do you have an instance where you think you demonstrated moral courage?R. One time I was called to a hospital by a family I didn't know, never met. They just had some babies, a couple of twins. [paraphrased: I was at the hospital, and the couple wanted me to deliver the babies my way. But the hospital has their own policy of not having me deliver the babies. The family insisted I deliver the baby, so I stayed, contrary to the hospital policy, and helped them deliver the baby.] I think courage is required to overcome fear. And I was afraid cause they were trying to have me thrown out of the hospital. So I guess you learn to slow the breathing and quiet that fear, and proceed one step at a time carefully, and somehow you get to the end of the day, or to the end of the project. In this case we started peace talks between the neo-natalogists and the family, and one tiny victory at a time; five with it's own breadth a day. If8the baby loses one gram, all bets are off. The people, highly emotional and angry, slowly we went a little more every day, until the babies were discharged and fully breast-fed by their mother and discharged a full month earlier than they would have if the hospital would have its way. That was, I think, a moral victory. I suppose one should ask the neo-natalogist what he thought it was; he probably would describe it in different terms.22a. What does “love” mean to you? How would you explain the meaning of love to another adult?R. I think love is caring for other people in an unselfish way. I think of unconditional love as being a truer form. When I love my patients, it doesn't mean I necessarily only love them if they pay me, or only care about them if they follow what I say. It's gotta be just part of the relationship.How would I explain that to another adult? I guess I would ask them what they thought love was. I would listen to their idea of what they were experiencing, and think about all the differentforms of love that we experience before we get to that point of unconditional love.22b. Are there different kinds of love? Could you explain?R. I think there is. I think that whatever that is in us, that ability to love, grows developmentally, like any of our other faculties. A baby is born, and they can't see clearly; but it's not important. All they need to see is the breast, present or absent, they find their way. but later on in their life it is essential to see more clearly, and our society to read to have complicated visual processes. I think that is true of learning to care about others. A child starts out with a diffuse awareness of other people; one in particular, one is giving the food. Those feelings of love are associated with feeling full. And then we go through our attachments to our parents in a different way. As we think that the universe is very small, one family, and then our attachments grow, our prioritiesgrow, we go through romantic love, and then we kind of go past that as we realize we can't expect people to be more than they're capable of. We can't expect people to never disappoint us.Perhaps then we settle into a realistic view of love, our relationship with other human beings; maybe a sadder outlook of that; appreciation of other human beings.R. What does the word ‘altruism' mean to you?I. I've heard it described as a societal type of love; a love expecting nothing in return. I've alsoheard of it as a love towards all man-kind, not particular individuals.R. What else might it mean to you?I. The ability to love so completely that one loses ones sense of self, not in an unhealthy way, but an ability to sacrifice one's self for another human being in ones society. There's the question from some people whether this altruistic love actually exists.R. Do you know people who are altruistic?I. I don't know. How would you know? They could be secretly enjoying themselves. I've not met too many. I have heroes; they are people I've heard about and read about, but I don't get the chance to meet people who are altruistic very often. I don't think there's conventions. They never can get off of work.9C. Developmental History and Influences23. Are there incidents that have changed your beliefs? Did this alter how you behave?R. Yes. I don't think they altered how I behave. It's actually internal processes. It affects how I think about things. I started out going to Protestant Bible school, learning, but I acted in the way that I behaved that I believed was right. Around the age of 12 I decided I was an atheist. It was mostly I was asking questions in bible study on circumcision and they wouldn't talk to me about it; they thought it was a really rude question. If they can't answer the questions that are in thebook, I don't believe in the stuff. I'm sort of reading a lot of the existential authors, and interesting that C. S. Lewis took a similar path, going from atheism to agnosticism, and what turned me into agnosticism was getting involved with an alcoholic boyfriend, and realizing that, well, Ayne Rand had a really good point about a certain number of things, but he apparently never lived with an alcoholic because there's some things human beings cannot control, and one has to develop a faith that this other person will be taken care of somehow, but it can't benecessarily by me. And that propels on into agnosticism. And it is a slow rocky road up the ladder of faith, and I am not there yet. One thing recently, a bunch of Jehovah's Witnesses came through the door, and I've always believed that we should embrace the experience and not beafraid of life. So I said, “Sure, I'll have a bible study.” And it started a two-year study period where I had a great time, and we had a weekly bible study, and it was nice of them to come. But essentially at the end they asked me, “Now, what do you believe?” Interesting that you can go to most other churches and they will never ask you what you believe. But these guys wanted toknow what I believed now. Not the same. I still believed the same thing. I don't know that the bible is right. I can't say that the Islamic people are wrong. I can't say that the Jewish people are wrong. I can't do that. I don't believe I have a handle on what is right and what is wrong. Sothey ended my bible study. But somehow that experience pulled me up a little more into understanding faith a little bit more. I read a lot. I started reading C. S. Lewis again.23a. What things or activities is your spouse/partner currently involved in?R. He's a window restorationist; he does carpentry when he's working. He's an artist. And he spends a lot of time being a father right now, fulfilling one of his life goals.23b. Did you try to impart these activities/values to your children?R. He's only six. I'm not, I don't think. You do that unconsciously, I'm sure. Every time you say, “Do you want some milk?” And they go, “Yeah!” And you say, “Would that be ‘yes, please?'” And you're imparting a value. He goes with me on house calls; he has ever since he was two weeks of age. He sees me at work, he helped take the homeless family home today; we found them a home which happens to be close to us. He sees that, and he sees what we do, and I guess he'll make his own decisions, but I won't tell him that what he does is right or wrong. It's what he chooses in life. If he thinks he wants to be a doctor now, and I go, “Oh no. I don't want him to suffer. I hope he decides to do something where he'll have much more security, and lesstrauma, less upheaval.” But I cannot decide for him; he will have to decide.1024. Apart from particular people, were there other things that influenced you, e.g. books, films,particular experiences, etc?R. I've read a lot of Albert Schweitzer. I really liked this film I saw about this Canadian surgeon who helped create a national health care; he was a leader in the national health care movement. I can't remember the surgeon's name or the name of the film, but it was really profound. I grew up reading C. S. Lewis. I suppose my grandmother was sending me books that were surreptitiously affecting me moral development. I just thought they were good books. I met “Patch” Adamswhen I was in medical school. He lived north of my medical school, so we developed a friendship and continued to correspond throughout my training and today. Ida Mae Gaskin, who's a prominent leader of the midwiferian movement in America, and then a friend andsupporter of someone I admire very much. There are some people that I've known through reading about.For some reason the movie “Ghost,” I really liked that one. It is a humorous description of whatever the spirit, or afterlife, thing is of our interaction with spirits of people who've died. And it seems to be remarkably similar to some personal experiences that I've had as my patients have died.25. What do you think have been your greatest successes?R. Surviving to this point. Getting into medical school is amazing. Getting out of medical school. Making the painful decision of going down this road of innovation and poverty, rather than taking the job and saving the money, and then doing it later on, which would be much safer. Getting off of probation. I was on probation for aiding and abetting the practice of midwifery, which inVirginia is a crime; I was on probation for four years. So I guess when something is a horrible trauma in your life, the mere relief of the pain feels like a tremendous success. So it seems like you have experience pain in order to enjoy the rest.26. Have you felt that you have been an influence on others?R. People call sometimes about the article one of the patients wrote; somehow they did it on the Internet, I don't know how, we still don't know how. I think people sometimes use me as motivation for just their personal lifestyle changes, which are really, really scary. It's not like they're going out and doing something really great, but for some folks just stopping smoking is a tremendous undertaking. So I hope that they're telling the truth, that I was a good influence for them. I don't strive to be perfect. I strive to have some consistency with what I'm teaching.27. If you were asked to give a speech to a group of high school or college students or adults, whatwould you consider as the most important message to leave them?R. To take a chance. To figure out what that one dream is and just take a chance to try it, cause you'll never know if they don't try it. To be unafraid of failure. You get used to it after awhile.28. Who are the men/women that you most admire, and why?R. Ida Mae Gaskin, “Patch” Adams, Albert Schweitzer, Mother Teresa, the Canadian surgeon.1129. Is there anything else that I should have asked regarding your activities, values and beliefs?R. You didn't ask if I've ever been in jail or not.I. Should I ask now?R. I was with a group called Physicians for Social Responsibility. Kind of a suspicious crowd, and we were going to a court proceeding for a group of people called plow-shares, the concept of beating swords into plow-shares, where these people had taken the wire cutters, gone through the fence that the Newport News shipyard, taken a hammer and banged on the nose and dented thewarhead, and the symbolism was beating.. .sword into the plow-share. So the hearing had come up and the group of us went down to the courtroom and listened to them defend themselves, which is mostly by reading bible passages and quoting the bible. Very interesting the judge listened for as long as he did. And the press was there, not because there was something good or noble was happening, but because something dramatic might happen; people might be arrested. And I knew that I had a choice...there we go, a bunch of Catholics again, you gotta watch these guys. So we went down and spent the night on the church basement floor, and assembled outside the courtroom for a rally and practiced a song (one I had not grown up with). The signal was that if the judge violated the people's rights and told them to be quiet now, that they couldn't keep talking and not allowed to defend themselves, that those who were willing would stand up and sing the song together, and willingly be arrested for contempt of court. So I knew I had a decision to make, and I was a physician with an active practice several hundred miles away from my home. I was mostly worried about where the car was parked; I didn't know it was going to be towed or not. I didn't realize I was going to be arrested. Father Barrigan was there; that was kind of cool. Apparently he's an old hand at this. When the judge cut them off, we turned around and started singing; we knew the signal. I was with the people and sang too, so I was arrested for singing. That was interesting.Number 038QUESTIONNAIREAttitude Survey Moral Exemplars Samuel P. Oliner, Project Director Altruistic Personality and Prosocial Behavior Institute Humboldt State University Arcata, CA 95521 707/826-4553DATE OF INTERVIEW: 02-06-02INTERVIEWER'S NAME:. GregRESPONDENT’S NAME: Susan Osborn, D.O.ADDRESS:TELEPHONE NUMBER:INTERVIEWER: PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING STATEMENT TO RESPONDENT BEFORE YOU BEGIN YOUR INTERVIEW.Let me begin by introducing myself. My name is Greg and I am interviewing for theAltruistic Personality and Prosocial Behavior Institute. I want to thank you very much for consenting to be part of this study.We are studying people who in their lives have made sustained commitments to moral values. You have been suggested to us as someone who has done so. We would like to ask you some questions about how you, in your own life, have thought about your values. We are also interested in how you have confronted moral issues in your life, especially in critical life decisions.If I ask a question that you are not comfortable answering, please let me know and we will skip to the next question. Also, if at any point you need to rest or take a break, just let me know.I want to assure you that this interview is confidential. Once we have finished our study, we will be happy to provide you with a summary report of our findings.1Section A: Background Questions[INTERVIEWER: TURN ON THE TAPE RECORDER AND MAKE SURE THAT IT IS WORKING PROPERLY)Now I would like to ask you about your background (or "roots").1. Respondent's ethnic backgroundINT: Ascertain to which group respondent belongs.(1) White (European American)(2) African American (Black)(3) Native American (Indian)(4) Latino (Mexican American, Cuban, Puerto Rican, Central American, South American)(5) Asian American (Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Hmong, Pacific Islander)(6) Jewish American(7) Other (please specify)__________________________2. Age 443. Place of Birth _4. Gender .(1) Male(2) Female5. Number of Siblings (a) Brothers(b) Sisters 3 1/26. Highest educational level you have attained(1) Less than high school(2) Some high school(3) High school graduate(4) Some College(5) College BA or BS(6) Postgraduate College „(7) Advanced Degree7. INT: ASK ONLY IF R IS COLLEGE GRADUATEWhat did you major in? Ant, then BS in biology. Orthopedic medicine28. Your Occupation Doctor9. Are you married? (1) Yes .(2) No 10. Do you have children? (1) YesHow many? 1 male he's 6(2) NoWhen you were growing up, what was your:11. Mother's Occupation: Chronic pain & teacher 12. Father’s Occupation: Engineering (electrical) & Management13. What is your religion? ProtestantCatholicJewishIslamicBuddhistHinduAmerican Indian New Age OtherNo Religion Refused13a. Do you consider yourself to be very religious, somewhat religious, not very religious?Very...........Somewhat...Not Very....Not at all....Refused.....13b. Do you consider yourself a spiritual person? (1) Yes(2) NoIf yes, please explain:314. INT: ASK THIS QUESTION DELICATELYWhat is your approximate individual income?less than $10,000.'......$10,000-20,000....... '$21,000-30,000....... '$31,000-40,000.......$41,000-50,000.......$51,000-60,000.......$61,000-70,000....... .$71,000 or more........Refused15. What is your political party affiliation?think indipendently (tape)DemocratRepublicanOther(please specify)NoneRefusedNow I would like to ask you a question about your life when you were growing up.16. What are the most important lessons about life that you learned from your parents?Honesty is very important. Tape. Stepfather , work for the company not the pay check. education not educated. happiness; comfort = fewer confrontationsA. The following questions are about your Moral Objectives or Goals[INTERVIEW: PROBE WHEN APPROPRIATE IN ORDER TO ELLICIT MORE RELEVANT INFORMATION]17. What would you say you spend most of your energy on at this time in your life?listening to patients family, mantal health sesions, there is always a mental side. keep the office open18. How long have you been involved with this helping activity1982- stated medical schoolstudio & paint enjoy how light falls on objects & people to teach 19. Regarding the activities that you mentioned above what are your goals? to create a clinic that exited into the future is in physically and emotionally a part of the community, addresses needs19a. Which of these goals would you consider essentially moral goals?Tape. moral from the moral ? Immortality= turning you back on those in need. caring for one another     19b. INT: PROBE What kinds of things make it difficult to reach these moral goals?do not repeat and power on prestige. it is easy to complain; minds being stuck19c. You’ve mentioned a number of goals, objectives, and values. Do these (or some of these)contribute to your sense of who you are as a person?adopted child , child of chronic pain patient. Knowing homelessness and poverty. B. The next questions are about Moral Action20. What have you done in the past to try to achieve these objectives, and what are you currently.doing? Tape21. [INTERVIEWER: READ SLOWLY]Can you tell me about an incident in your life where you weren’t sure about the right course of action? How did it become clear to you what to do?  Tape. keep trying to get the community together, his tape. teaching (every encountered a patient) ; enco rage staff to continue education. Make people something22. [INTERVIEWER: READ SLOWLY]What does the phrase ‘moral courage’ mean to you? Would you say that you demonstrated moral courage when you faced the difficulties you described? courage is a required. I don't know i did it because it was what i did. message from wherever it came from?522a. What does love mean to you? How would you explain the meaning of love to another adult? (Tape) love is  caring for other people in an unselfish way; unconditional love = a true from of love 22b. Are there different kinds of love? Could you explain?(Tape) yes whatever that is in was, the ability to love, ad developmentally22c. What does the word altruism mean to you?I have heard it described as a "societal love" . toward all mankind The ability to love so completely, that one loses ones self.22d. Do you know people who are altruistic?how would you know? not too oftenC. Finally, tell me about the Developmental History and Influences of your life.23. Are there incidents that have changed your beliefs? Did this alter how you behave? (tape) yes23a. [INTERVIEWER: ONLY ASK IF R IS MARRIEDWhat things or activities is your spouse partner currently involved in? Tape window, carpeting, artist,being a father23b. [INTERVIEWER: ONLY ASK IF R HAS CHILDREN]Did you try to impart these activities/values to your children? no but you do that unconsciously 24. INT: READ THIS QUESTION SLOWLYApart from particular people, were there other things that influenced you, e.g. books, films, particular experiences, etc? canadiann surgeon fil about him; reading C.S. 625. Could you enumerate for me what you think have been your greatest successes? Tape: surviving to this point and getting into medical school, getting out of medial school. Getting off of probation (medical)- 4 years26. Have you felt that you have been an influence on others?yes Tape27. If you were asked to give a speech to a group of high school or college students or adults, whatwould you consider as the most important message to leave them? figure out the one dream. Tape. try it to take a chance28. Who are the men/women that you most admire, and why? Patch adams, mother theresa, canadian surgeon 29. Is there anything else that I should have asked regarding your activities, values and beliefs? you should have asked me if i have ever been to jail30. THANK THE RESPONDENT.INT. EVALUATION (was the interview easy, difficult, etc.)difficult at first then easier 1The Altruistic Personality and Prosocial Behavior InstituteSamuel P. Oliner, Ph.D.Please fill out the following scales, insert into the enclosed self-addressed envelope, and mail it to us.**Please be sure to fill out BOTH SIDES OF EACH PAGE**Section A: Intergroup Attitudes/Perceptions1. People sometimes think that they have something in common with others. Do you think you have much in common, something in common, not very much in common, or nothing in common with people from each of the following groups? PLEASE CHECK THOSE ITEMS THAT REFLECT YOUR VIEWS.Much in Common(1)Something in Common(2)Not Very Much in Common(3)Nothing in Common(4)Don’tKnow(5)White EuropeanAmericanAfricanAmericanNativeAmericanLatinoAmericanAsianAmericanJewishAmericanSection B: Scales**PLEASE PLACE AN “X” IN THE BOX THAT BEST REPRESENTS YOUR OPINION**StronglyAgree(1)Agree(2)Disagree(3)StronglyDisagree(4)Refused(5)Don’tKnow(6)1. Every person should give some time for the good of the town orcountry. (SR)__________2. I feel that I’m a person of worth, at least on an equal basis with others.(SE)__________________3. It is the duty of each person to do the best s/hecan. (SR)_____________ 4. At times, I think I am no good at all. (SE)_____2StronglyAgree(1Agree(2)Disagree(3)StronglyDisagree(4)Refused(5)Don’tKnow(6)5. I take a positive attitude about myself.(SE) ____________ _6. I feel that I have anumber of good qualities. (SE)____________________7. All in all, I am able todo things as well as most other people. (SE)________8. Letting people down isnot so bad, because you can’t do good all the time for everybody. (SR)_______9. I wish I could have more respect for myself.(SE)____________________10. All in all, I aminclined to feel that I am a failure. (SE)____________11.I feel very bad when I have failed to finish something I promised I would do. (SR)12. People would be a lot better off if they could live far away from other people and never have anything to do with them. (SR)___________________13.I feel I do not have much to be proud of.(SE)___________________14. It is no use worrying about current events or public affairs, I can't do anything about them anyway. (SR)__________15. I certainly feel uselessat times. (SE)__________16. On the whole, I am satisfied with myself.(SE)_______________ __3Never(1)Once(2)Morethanonce(3)Often(4)VeryOften(5)Don’tKnow(6)17. I have helped push astranger's car out of the snow. (AP)_____________18. I have given directions to a stranger.(AP)___________________19. I have made changefor a stranger. (AP)_______20. I have given money toa charity. (AP)___________21. I have given money to a stranger who needed it (or asked me for it). (AP)22.I have donated goods or clothes to a charity.(AP)___________________23.I have done volunteer work for a charity. (AP)24.I have donated blood.(AP)________________25.I have helped carry a stranger’s belongings (books, parcels, etc.).(AP)___________________26.I have delayed an elevator and held the door open for a stranger. (AP)27.I have allowed someone to go ahead of me in a lineup (at Xerox machine, in the supermarket, etc.). (AP)28.I have given astranger a lift in my car. (AP)___________________29.I have pointed out aclerk’s error (in a bank, at the supermarket) in undercharging me for an item. (AP)____________30.I have let a neighbor whom I didn’t know too well borrow an item of some value to me (e.g., a dish, tools, etc.). (AP)4Never(1)Once(2)Morethanonce3)Often(4)VeryOften(5)Don’tKnow(6)31. I have bought 'charity* Christmas cards deliberately because I knew it was a good cause.(AP)________________ ___32. I have helped a classmate who I did not know that well with a homework assignment when my knowledge was greater than his or hers.(AP)33.I have voluntarily looked after a neighbor’s pets or children without being paid for it. (AP)34.I have offered to help a handicapped or elderly stranger across a street.(AP)___________________35. I have offered my seaton a bus or train to a stranger who was standing. (AP)_________36.I have helped anacquaintance move household. (AP)________37. I experience a connection to all life.(DSE)_________________38. I find comfort in myreligion or spirituality. (DSE) 39. I feel deep inner peace or harmony. (DSE)40. I feel God’s love forme, directly. (DSE)_____41. I am spirituallytouched by the beauty of creation. (DSE)________42. I feel a selfless caringfor others. (DSE)_______Thank you very much for your help!

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