Levine et al. (2001) Theme: Responses to people in need Area: Social Area Links to: Piliavin et al. Subway Samaritan

Background Differences in helping behaviour have been noted around the world – although there is very little scientific evidence. Previous research often tests the popular hypothesis that the tendency to help strangers declines as the size of a city increases. If this was a correlation, what would it look like?

Levine’s idea… Levine wanted to conduct a cross-cultural study (a study that is done in multiple cultures) to look at levels of spontaneous help to non-emergency situations. Levine wanted to scientifically test cross-cultural differences (differences across cultures).

Levine’s aims: To see if the tendency of people within a city to offer non-emergency help to strangers was stable across different situations in which people needed help. 2. To see if helping of strangers varies across cultures. 3. To identify the characteristics of those communities in which strangers are more (or less) likely to be helped.

Method Field experiment Observation Are there any issues with this method? Researcher bias? Issue with the researchers being students? Field experiment Observation Data was collected by students who were Travelling to foreign countries Returning home for the summer By cross cultural psychologists and their students in other countries who volunteered to assist the researchers

Method In each country, data was collected in either the largest city or another major city (23 in total, all had populations of 230,000 or more): Austria (Vienna) San Salvador (El Salvador) Romania (Bucharest) Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) India (Kolkata (Calcutta)) Singapore (Singapore) Bulgaria (Sofia) Israel (Tel Aviv) Spain (Madrid) China (Shanghai) Italy (Rome) Sweden (Stockholm) Costa Rica (San Jose) Malaysia (Kuala Lumpur) Thailand (Bangkok) Czech Republic (Prague) Mexico (Mexico City) Taiwan (Taipei) Denmark (Copenhagen) The Netherlands (Amsterdam) United States of America Hungary (Budapest) Malawi (Lilongwe) (New York City)

1/3 Dropped pen Walking at a carefully practised, moderate pace (15 paces/10 seconds), experimenters walked towards a lone pedestrian passing in the opposite direction. When 10 to 15 feet from the subject, the experimenter reached into his pocket and accidentally, without appearing to notice, dropped his pen behind him, in full view of the subject, and continued walking past the subject. A total of 214 men and 210 women were approached. Participants were scored as having helped if they called back to the experimenter that he had dropped the pen and/or picked up the pen and brought it to the experimenter.

2/3 Hurt leg Walking with a heavy limp and wearing a large and clearly visible leg brace, experimenters ‘accidentally’ dropped and unsuccessfully struggled to reach down for a pile of magazines as they came within 20 feet of a passing pedestrian. A total of 253 men and 240 women were approached. Helping was defined as offering to help and/or beginning to help without offering.

3/3 Helping a blind person cross the street Experimenters, dressed in dark glasses and carrying white canes, acted the role of a blind person needing help getting across the street. The confederates were trained for the role. Experimenters attempted to locate downtown corners with pedestrian crossings, traffic signals, and moderate, steady pedestrian flow. They stepped up to the corner just before the change to the green man, held out their cane, and waited until someone offered help. A trial was terminated (and recorded as no help) after 60 seconds or when the light turned red, whichever occurred first, after which the experimenter walked away from the corner. A total of 281 trials were conducted. Helping was scored if participants, at a minimum, informed the experimenter that the light was green.

Methods These ‘helping’ behaviours were measured… In two or more locations In main city centre districts During main business hours On clear days During summer months Between 1992 and 1997 Any issues here?

Potential characteristics which may have influenced All experimenters were male, of college age and dressed neatly and casually. These four factors were also recorded and a correlational analysis between each factor and helping behaviours was conducted. Population size Economic indicator Cultural values Walking speed Potential characteristics which may have influenced

Hypothesis 1: To see if the tendency of people within a city to offer non- emergency help to strangers was stable across different situations in which people needed help. Results: A general tendency across situations.

Hypothesis 2: To see if helping of strangers varied across cultures. Results: There was a large variance between nations.

Hypothesis 3: To identify the characteristics of those communities in which strangers are more (or less) likely to be helped. Results: More detail is needed to discuss this aim.

POPULATION SIZE While all cities had populations of more than 230,000, there were still differences in population size. Population size for each metropolitan area was taken from the most current United Nations Demographic Yearbook.

ECONOMIC INDICATOR (PPP) PPP is an indicator of economic well-being that measures how much the average income in a country is capable of purchasing. Only one statistically significant relationship Between PPP and overall levels of helping and helping of blind person This suggests that cities with lower levels of PPP tend to be more helpful. This means, the economically poorer the city = the more helpful

CULTURAL VALUES Six internationally expert cross-cultural psychologists were asked to rate the 23 countries in the sample on the dimension of individualism-collectivism. Countries were rated on a 10-point scale (1 = the most collectivistic, 10 = the most individualistic). The six expert ratings were averaged to produce an overall individualism-collectivism score for each country.

CULTURE That cities from Latin America and Spain showed higher levels of help than other cities can be attributed to the importance of the cultural script (a set of instructions that people follow) of simpatia (in Spanish) or simpatico (in Portuguese) in Latin American and Hispanic cultures. These terms refer to a range of amiable social qualities – to be friendly, nice, agreeable and good-natured. Helping strangers is also part of this script.

What influence would this have?? WALKING SPEED Male and female walking speed, an indicator of the pace of life, was measured over a distance of 60 feet in the same downtown locations as the helping measures. In most cities, 35 men and 35 women were timed. From this an overall walking speed for the city was calculated. What influence would this have??

Conclusions The helping of strangers is characteristic of a place, there are large cross- cultural variations in helping rates. Countries with less economic productivity may sometimes be accompanied by a traditional value system. These traditional value systems often include ethical guidelines that mandate assisting strangers. The cultural behaviour of being Spanish and Portuguese emphasise prioritising amiable social behaviours and being friendly. This could explain the helpfulness of the cities from Latin America and Spain. Slower cities are more helpful, but the link between economic health and helping is not a by-product of a fast pace in more affluent societies. The collectivism or individualism of a culture is not related to helping behaviours.

Reliability Validity Ecological validity Evaluation Ethics Other Each group will take one of these main points. You are expected to explain yourself fully and present to the class Validity Are there any issues with the experimenters? Did they control for any of these issues? Reliability Did all experimenters behave in the same way? Sample size? Ecological validity Are the scenarios for helping common in everyday real life? Are all scenarios equally common? Does this affect the results? Evaluation Ethics Did participants give consent? Were they debriefed? Did they come to any harm? Other Is this research useful? Why is it important to conduct cross-cultural research?

How does Levine link to social area? Levine et al.’s study falls under the social area because the study looks at how social variables (such as a city’s population and how well off the people in a city are) impact behaviour.