And conscientious people feel compelled to abide by rules and norms, such as the duties to vote and pay taxes. But the study also found that people who embody the qualities of good citizenship score higher on the narcissism scale.
This is a surprising link, as narcissism tends to be associated with selfishness and entitlement. The researchers are not exactly sure why narcissism turns out to be correlated with good citizenship behaviors. They suspect it has something to do with desiring praise and admiration from others, in this case from fellow citizens. For example, research has shown narcissists enjoy drinking wine mainly because doing so casts them in a positive light. They also propose that social media may play a role.
Study: Who makes a good citizen? What makes a good citizen? The following 8 traits are a good place to start.
Courtesy — be considerate of others. Moral Courage — stand up for what you consider to be wrong and defend those who cannot defend themselves. Love of Justice — be fair and ask that others be so as well. Be a Productive Member of Society. Be Active In Your Community. Here are some ways to be active in your community: Shop locally. Attend community events — keep your eyes open for events that are happening in your area such as festivals, community theatre, a gallery opening, and so on.
Here are some ways to better your community: Participate in a community-driven cleanup project. Help plant a community garden. Organize a campaign to raise money for new playground equipment. Help out your neighbors. Keep Yourself Well-Informed. Books on important world issues. Biographies of people who have helped shape the world. History books. Be Vigilant. A good citizen remains vigilant in order to ascertain that the government is doing all of the following: Meeting its obligations to its citizens; Acting appropriately within its sphere and jurisdiction; and Adhering to the limits of state action.
Here are some ideas: Identify an issue you care about and pursue it. Attend rallies and events. Go to city council meetings. Join a political organization. Volunteer for a political campaign. Do your part to elect capable, civic minded leaders. Run for political office. As a citizen, you have the right to have your voice heard. Exercise that right. Be a Mentor. Some ideas on ways you can mentor kids are the following: Talk to your own kids about civics and teach them to be good citizens.
Contact your local homeless shelter about finding workers there. Oftentimes, homeless people are simply regular folks who ran on hard times and the small amount of money they earn from your job can be enough to help them get back on their feet.
Stay healthy. It's important to take care of your body and stay as healthy as possible. When you get sick, you put others at risk and you take up valuable space in doctor's offices and hospitals that could go towards someone else. Exercise, eat right and make sure you stay current on all your shots. With many vaccine-preventable childhood diseases on the rise, it may be a good idea to update yours.
You aren't yourself at risk, as an adult, but the unvaccinated children around you are. Part 2. The most important thing you can do as a citizen is vote.
It's easy to forget or feel disinterested and only vote during the really major elections, but it's very important to vote in every election you can. Running the country goes beyond which party is currently in power. You also need to vote for your direct representatives, who often play a much more major role in what changes happen in the country.
It's also important to vote in local elections. At the state and county level, you'll often vote on things like transportation initiatives, which can affect how people get to work, and other important laws and measures that affect your area. Serve on jury duty. Jury duty is no fun, but it's vital to maintain a functional judicial system at least in the US. When your number is up, take on the challenge and serve your country in your own way.
Contact your representative about issues that matter to you. When there are issues that matter to you, it's very important to contact your representative and tell them what you think.
Even if you're too young to vote or you didn't vote for them, they still represent you and it's important for them to stay in touch with what people really believe. If you don't know how to contact your representative or who your representative is, you can go to the official website here to find out.
Volunteer at elections time. When elections do happen, extra help is often needed to make sure that everyone's vote gets counted. You can volunteer with the elections office or your preferred party and help man voting stations, count votes, and fill other support roles. Help get others engaged. Help others to also get civically engaged by volunteering with your preferred political party or elections office to help get people registered to vote, recruit people to gather petitions, and do other civic activities.
Encourage your friends and family members to join you in these activities or go door to door with an organization to recruit strangers. Part 3. Recycle papers and plastics according to your city's recycling system. The recycling is often collected with the garbage but in a separate container. You can find recyclable items by looking for the recycle symbol used by your country. Generally, most items made from paper and plastic can be recycled, so long as they don't contain food and are not covered in wax.
Compost leftover food and organic material to help keep down waste even further. Some cities collect compost, but otherwise, you'll need to compost it yourself in your back yard.
Compost by collecting all of these items together in a large box outside. Turn the mixture every few weeks and add soil, until the whole thing looks like a single mixture. This can often take months.
When the compost is done, it can be sold or it can be used to provide nutrients to your own yard or garden. Pick up litter. If you see trash lying around don't just stare at it and walk past it.
Try to make time once a month to go around your neighborhood and pick up all of the trash that you see. Just be sure to use a grabbing stick or gardening gloves, to prevent hurting yourself on something dangerous.
You can also join citywide groups that go around the city and pick up litter in the most affected areas. Contact your city hall to locate a group for your city. Watch where and how you wash your car. The soaps used for washing cars are very destructive to the environment often contaminating your drinking water! When you do wash your car, use environmentally friendly products.
This will help keep the chemicals out of your drinking water. It conducts public opinion polling, demographic research, media content analysis and other empirical social science research. Pew Research Center does not take policy positions. It is a subsidiary of The Pew Charitable Trusts. Newsletters Donate My Account. Research Topics. Share this link:. Facts are more important than ever.
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