Forms of Helping Direct vs. Indirect Emergency, Short-term versus Long-term Behavioral versus Emotional
(From New York Times, March 27th, 1964) For more than half an hour 38 respectable, law-abiding citizens in Queens watched a killer stalk and stab a woman in three separate attacks in Kew Gardens. Twice the sound of their voices and the sudden glow of their bedroom lights interrupted him and frightened him off, Each time he returned, sought her out and stabbed her again. Not one person telephoned the police during the assault ; one witness called after the woman was dead. That was two weeks ago today. But Assistant Chief Inspector Frederick M. Lussen, in charge of the borough’s detectives and a veteran of 25 years of homicide investigations, is still shocked. He can give a matter-of-fact recitation of many murders. But the Kew Gardens slaying baffles him — not because it is a murder, but because the ‘good people’ failed to call the police. ‘As we have reconstructed the crime,’ he said, ‘the assailant had three chances to kill this woman during a 35-minute period. He returned twice to complete the job. If we had been called when he first attacked, the woman might not be dead now.’ ~ Kitty Genovese Story ~
Basic Assumption Groups should be more likely to help in emergency situations But what if the situation is relatively ambiguous (as most emergencies may be, or at least start off as such)? Presence of others as a source of information (social cues)
Latane and Darley’s Model of Emergency Intervention (1970) Notice the Event? Define as Emergency? HELP Have the qualifications to help? Take Responsibility? Decide to Help?
Smoke-Filled Room Study Procedure?
Did the presence of others affect how quickly participants noticed the smoke in the room? Alone = Less than 5 seconds (63% noticed within 5 sec.) Group = About 20 seconds (26% noticed within 5 sec.) What if a condition existed where a confederate signaled the need to help?
Epileptic Seizure Study Procedure?
Epileptic Seizure Information
You are driving along a city street and you notice that a car has slid across the shoulder and into a ditch. A middle-aged woman is standing next to the car, bewildered. You are in a hurry to meet someone in town, but it’s obvious that the woman needs help. What would you do?
% helping Ahead of scheduleOn scheduleBehind schedule Time Pressure and Helping
In a local grocery store you notice a small child in a shopping cart. A woman, likely the mother, slaps him in the face and yells for the child to shut up or get more. You fell bad for the child but you wonder if you’d make things worse if you say something. What would you do?
Piliavin and Piliavin’s Cost Analysis of Emergency Intervention How do perceived costs for helping and not helping affect our willingness to intervene in an emergency? Piliavin and Piliavin (1972) proposed that a moderately aroused bystander to an emergency assesses the costs of helping and not helping before deciding whether to intervene. The table below predicts what a bystander is most likely to do in an emergency when the costs for helping are low or high and the costs for not helping are low or high. Costs (to helper) for Directly Helping Victim Costs (to victim) if NoDirect Help Given High Low LowHigh Direct Intervention Intervention or nonintervention largely a function of perceived norms in situation Indirect intervention or Redefinition of the situation, disparagement of victim, etc., which lowers costs for no help, allowing Leaving the scene, ignoring, denial
Blood on Victim No Blood on Victim Perceived Costs & Helping Strangers Arguing Couples Arguing
Country # Helpful Acts Philippines280 Kenya156 Mexico148 Japan97 U.S.86 India60 Culture and Helping *Source: Whiting & Whiting, 1975
You a watching the TV news about a large-scale national disaster across the world. Men, women and children are shown blankly starring at the TV screen. Immediate financial support is requested to but food and medicine before the death toll rises. How would this make you feel? What would you do?
Ask for directions Give help Thanked for helping “Punished” for helping (“I cannot understand what you’re saying. Never mind, I’ll ask someone else” Less likely to provide assistance in future Impact of Past Experience on Helping What are the “big picture” implications of such a finding, especially for long-term helping efforts?
RankCharityProgram ExpensesProfessional Fundraising 1Disabled Veterans Associations 4.6%94.3% 2Children's Charitable Foundation 10.3%87.3% 3Firefighters Charitable Foundation 8.3%86.4% 4Disabled Police Officers Counseling Center11.8%85.7% 5Law Enforcement Education Program2.2%84.1% 6Operation Lookout 12.6%80.8% 7Wishing Well Foundation USA 10.3%78.3% 8Children's Charity Fund, Inc. 5.7%78.1% 9Coalition Against Breast Cancer 18.3%78.1% 10Children With Hairloss 24.5%72.3%
The United Nations Special Envoy to Haiti has reported that only 40 percent of money raised for Haiti in 2010 has been distributed, and only 15 percent of needed temporary housing has been built. From: The Oakland Press, Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Helping request (e.g., stranger asking for spare change) Physiological arousal External attribution (e.g., poor economy is at fault) Analysis of the situation Internal attribution (e.g., stranger is lazy) Positive emotions Helping Negative emotions No helping Attributions & Helping
Break camera Versus Camera malfunctions Before confession Versus After confession Helping? Moods (Guilt) on Helping
MaleFemale Homosexual making request Heterosexual making request Wrong phone number study From Shaw, Borough, & Fink, 1994 Similarity