levine (2001)- cross-cultural altruism Flashcards
research method
This was a cross-cultural quasi experiment carried out in the field that used an independent measures design.
• The field situation was 23 large cities around the world including Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Calcutta (India), Madrid (Spain), Shanghai (China),
Budapest (Hungary), Rome (Italy), New York (USA) and Kuala Lampur (Malaysia). The study should be considered as a quasi- experiment
because the independent variable – the people in each city – was naturally occurring.
• The experiment measured, through the use of a series of correlations of co-variables, helping behaviour in three non emergency situations:
(i) whether the victim dropped a pen
(ii) whether the victim had a hurt/injured leg
(iii) whether the victim was blind and trying to cross the street.
• The dependent variable (DV) was the helping rate of the 23 individual cities (calculated to give each city an Overall Helping Index).
• The three measures of helping were correlated with statistics reflecting population size, economic well-being, cultural values (individualismcollectivism, simpatia) and the pace of life for each of the 23 locations.
sample
Participants in this study were large cities in each of 23 countries – in most cases the largest in each country i.e. individuals in each of these cities
at the time of the experiment
outline- procedure
Data was collected by either interested, responsible students who were either travelling to foreign countries or returning to their home
countries for the summer, or by cross-cultural psychologists and their students in other countries who volunteered to assist the authors.
• All experimenters were college age and dressed neatly and casually. To control for experimenter gender effects and to avoid potential
problems in some cities, all experimenters were men.
• To ensure standardisation in scoring and to minimise experimenter effects:
(i) all experimenters received both a detailed instruction sheet and on-site field training for acting their roles, learning the procedure for
participant selection and scoring of participants
(ii) the experimenters practised together
(ii) no verbal communication was required of the experimenter.
• The three helping measures were:
(i) Dropped pen. Walking at a carefully practised, moderate pace (15 paces/10 seconds), experimenters walked toward a solitary pedestrian
passing in the opposite direction. When 10 to 15 feet from the participant, the experimenter reached into his pocket and accidentally, without
appearing to notice, dropped his pen behind him, in full view of the participant, and continued walking past the participant. 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.
(ii) 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.
(iii) Helping a blind person across 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 canes and training for the role were provided by the Fresno Friendship Centre for the Blind).
Experimenters attempted to locate downtown corners with crosswalks, traffic signals, and moderate, steady pedestrian flow. They stepped
up to the corner just before the light turned green, held out their cane, and waited until someone offered help. A trial was terminated 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
conclusions
The helping of strangers is a cross-culturally meaningful characteristic of a place.
• There are large cross-cultural variations in helping rates.
• Helping across cultures is inversely related to a country’s economic productivity.
• Countries with the cultural tradition of simpatia are, on average, more helpful than counties with no such tradition.
• Although faster cities tend to be less helpful than slower cities, the link between economic health and helping is not a by-product of a fast
pace of life in affluent societies.
• The value of collectivism-individualism is unrelated to helping behaviours.
