Piliavin

• Aim

  Investigate factors - type of victims and race - affecting the speed and frequency of helping behaviour.
• Design

  field experiment and participant observation

  IV 1 - VICTIM CONDITION - appear sober and carry a cane (ill) or smell of alcohol and carry bottle wrapped in brown paper bag (drunk)

  IV 2 VICTIM RACE - Black or White

  IV 3 MODEL POSITION - either stand in same train compartment as the victim (critical area) or in next compartment (adjacent)

  IV 4 MODEL TIMING - either way till fourth station or until sixth station to help the victim

  DV 5 HELPING - Measured as time taken for first passenger to help, and total number of passengers who helped
• Participants

  Approximately 4450 men and women travelling on stretch of New York subway between 11 am and 3 pm on weekdays in 1968.

  Average racial composition 45% black and 55% white

  Average number of people in train was 43
• Procedure

  victim - male confederate would pretend to collapse

  model - confederate who helped victim to his feet

  observers - two females sat in next compartment and recorder what happened
• Procedure pt 2

  Boarded using different doors. Victim always stood next to pole in centre area. As the train passed first station, victim staggered forward and collapsed, if the received no help model would help. Then would all get off and wait separately.
• Victims and Models

  4 victims were all male ages between 26 and 35. 3 white and 1 black. All identically dressed - form of control. In all aspects other than drunk or ill they behaved identically.

  Models aged 24 to 29 identically dressed
• Results

  majority of times, victims were helped before model intervened.

  Ill victim received spontaneous help 95 percent of the time, drunk received it only 50 percent. 60 percent of the time more than one person gave spontaneous help

  Race of victim : had no significant differences

  90 percent of helpers were male

  Race of helpers not significant

  Diffusion of responsibility not evident. In fact, quickest help came from the largest groups
• Qualitative data

  Comments from women passengers -

  'It's for men to help', ' I wish I could help him, I'm not strong enough.' ' you feel so bad you don't know what to do'
• Explanation of results

  Arousal Cost reward model.

  observation of emergency station creates emotional arousal. This can be increased by factors like empathy, or the length of the time it lasts or decreased by helping or leaving. We are motivated to help as a way of reducing unpleasant feelings of arousal in ourselves, Chosen response depends on cost reward models

  costs - effort embarrassment . costs of not helping - self blame

  reward - praise from self and onlookers. rewards of not helping - getting on with your own business
• Evaluation of cost reward model

  Negative view on people, denies people think altruistically and assume behaviour always measured in some form of benefit
• strength

  • high ecological validity, done in real life and situation could happen. However participants could not escape, unlike other scenarios
  • large sample size
  • both quantitative and qualitative data
  • standardised
• weaknesses

  • criticised on ethical grounds. no consent, there is deception and they weren't debriefed
  • field experiment so lowers internal validity