دانشگاه اصفهان مطالعات وقف و امور خیریه 3115-7475 4 1 2026 03 21 The Relationship Between Cultural Capital and Altruistic Action: An Empirical Study in the City of Yazd رابطۀ سرمایۀ فرهنگی و کنش ایثارگرانه؛ بررسی تجربی در شهر یزد 63 84 30452 10.22108/ecs.2026.148140.1173 FA سید علیرضا افشانی استاد گروه جامعه‌شناسی، دانشکدۀ علوم اجتماعی، دانشگاه یزد، یزد، ایران علیرضا زارعی محمودآبادی پژوهشگر پسادکتری جامعه‌شناسی، گروه جامعه‌شناسی، دانشکدۀ علوم اجتماعی، دانشگاه یزد، یزد، ایران یزدان کریمی منجرموئی دکتری جامعه‌شناسی، دانشکدۀ علوم اجتماعی، دانشگاه یزد، یزد، ایران 0000-0002-5618-9506 Journal Article 2026 01 25 <strong>Introduction</strong><br />In contemporary urban societies, the gradual decline in voluntary participation and public‑good–oriented behavior has raised concerns regarding the sustainability of social cohesion and civic engagement (Bekkers & Wiepking, 2011). This challenge is particularly pronounced in heritage cities such as Yazd, where the preservation of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, tourism pressures, and tensions between long‑term residents and new actors require strong civic involvement. Within this context, social altruism—voluntary, other‑regarding actions in the public sphere—serves as an essential resource for maintaining solidarity and supporting urban governance.<br />The literature highlights the significant role of cultural capital in shaping prosocial and civic behaviors. Drawing on Bourdieu’s (1986) conceptualization, cultural capital includes embodied, objectified, and institutionalized forms of cultural resources. These resources enhance individuals’ sensitivity to public issues, communicative competencies, and access to networks in which altruistic actions are formed. Additionally, research on prosocial behavior identifies several explanatory dimensions such as empathy, moral orientation, social identity, group belonging, internalized norms, civic participation, social cohesion, and communication processes in the public sphere (Habermas, 1987; Bekkers & Wiepking, 2011).<br />Against this backdrop, the present study addresses a central question: To what extent, and through which dimensions, does cultural capital influence social altruism among citizens in the urban context of Yazd? his research fills a gap in the Iranian literature, where cultural capital is often examined in relation to education and inequality rather than as a structural resource for altruistic, public‑good–oriented behavior—particularly in a World Heritage city.<br /><strong>Methodology</strong><br />This cross‑sectional survey utilized a structured questionnaire to examine the relationship between cultural capital and social altruism among residents of Yazd aged 16 years and older. A total of 379 participants were selected through multi‑stage cluster sampling, ensuring representation of diverse neighborhoods and social groups.<br />Cultural capital was measured using an 18‑item scale reflecting Bourdieu’s (1986) three dimensions: embodied cultural capital (habitus, cultural competencies, and tastes), objectified cultural capital (engagement with cultural goods and spaces), and institutionalized cultural capital (educational credentials and related resources). Social altruism was measured using a 10‑item scale assessing voluntary and other‑regarding actions within the public sphere. Reliability analysis showed acceptable internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of 0.76 for cultural capital and 0.81 for social altruism.<br />Data analysis was performed using SPSS and AMOS. Descriptive statistics assessed overall levels of cultural capital and social altruism. Pearson’s correlation coefficients examined the relationships between cultural capital dimensions and social altruism. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) tested the hypothesized theoretical model, with fit indices and factor loadings reported at acceptable levels.<br /><strong>Findings</strong><br />Descriptive results indicate that levels of both cultural capital and social altruism are below the midpoint of their respective scales. Correlation analysis reveals that overall cultural capital and all its subdimensions—embodied, objectified, and institutionalized—are positively and significantly related to social altruism (p < 0.001). This aligns with prior research emphasizing the role of cultural resources in enabling prosocial action.<br />Among the dimensions, objectified cultural capital shows the strongest correlation, suggesting that exposure to cultural goods, events, and spaces has a particularly meaningful influence on altruistic behavior.<br />SEM findings further support the hypothesis: all factor loadings exceed 0.50; the structural path from cultural capital to social altruism is β = 0.53, indicating a strong positive effect; and cultural capital accounts for 28% of the variance in social altruism (R² = 0.28). Overall model indices meet accepted standards.<br /><strong>Discussion and Conclusion</strong><br />The findings offer empirical support for Bourdieu’s (1986) assertion that cultural capital shapes social action, extending this insight to social altruism in a heritage‑city context. In Yazd, cultural resources enhance individuals’ capacity to transform moral commitments into concrete social action, a pattern also emphasized in broader prosocial behavior research (Bekkers & Wiepking, 2011).<br />The particularly strong influence of objectified cultural capital highlights the importance of continuous engagement with cultural goods, events, and spaces as mechanisms that cultivate civic sensitivity and normalize participatory behavior. These processes are also influenced by communicative dynamics within the public sphere, aligning with Habermas’s (1987) theory of communicative action.<br />The study underscores the context‑dependent nature of cultural capital, as the ability to convert cultural resources into altruistic action is not evenly distributed and is shaped by structural and institutional conditions. Strengthening cultural capital—especially through equitable access to cultural infrastructures—can contribute to fostering sustainable, participatory urban governance in heritage cities like Yazd. پژوهش حاضر با هدف تعیین رابطۀ سرمایۀ فرهنگی با تقویت ایثارگری اجتماعی در میان شهروندان شهر یزد انجام شد. این مطالعه به روش پیمایش و با استفاده از پرسشنامه انجام شد. جامعۀ آماری شامل شهروندان بالای ۱۶ سال شهر یزد بود که از میان آنها، با روش نمونه‌گیری خوشه‌ای چندمرحله‌ای، ۳۷۹ نفر انتخاب شدند. سرمایۀ فرهنگی با ۱۸ گویه و ایثارگری اجتماعی با ۱۰ گویه اندازه‌گیری شد. پایایی پرسشنامه با ضریب آلفای کرونباخ (۰٫۷۶ و ۰٫۸۱) تأیید شد و داده‌ها با نرم‌افزارهای SPSS و AMOS و با استفاده از آزمون همبستگی پیرسون و مدل‌سازی معادلات ساختاری تحلیل شد. سطح سرمایۀ فرهنگی و ایثارگری اجتماعی در نمونۀ مورد مطالعه پایین‌تر از حد متوسط است. بین سرمایۀ فرهنگی و هر سه بُعد آن با ایثارگری اجتماعی، رابطه‌ای مثبت و معنادار وجود داشت (01/0>p). قوی‌ترین رابطه مربوط به بُعد عینیت‌یافتۀ سرمایۀ فرهنگی بود. مدل معادلات ساختاری تأیید کرد سرمایۀ فرهنگی 28 درصد از واریانس ایثارگری اجتماعی را تبیین می‌کند و شاخص‌های برازش مدل نیز در حد مطلوب گزارش شد. سرمایۀ فرهنگی به‌ عنوان منبعی ساختاری، نقش تسهیلگر مهمی در افزایش احتمال و تداوم کنش‌های ایثارگرانه ایفا می‌کند. این رابطه در بافت شهری دارای میراث فرهنگی غنی مانند شهر یزد، به ‌ویژه از طریق عینیت‌های فرهنگی تقویت می‌شود. با این حال، سطح پایین سرمایۀ فرهنگی نهادی‌شده شکاف در دسترسی به مشارکت نهادمند را نشان می‌دهد. یافته‌ها بر لزوم توجه سیاست‌گذاران به تقویت سرمایۀ فرهنگی شهروندان برای نهادینه‌سازی ایثارگری اجتماعی تأکید دارد. https://ecs.ui.ac.ir/article_30452_54225186d0f469537bff61c192b8fab8.pdf