Piliavin (1969) Flashcards
Method
Field experiment
Aim
To see in a face to face situation where there is no clear escape route, whether the following would influence helping behaviour: Ill or dunk victim Ethnicity of victim Intervention of a model Size of group
Location
New York subway
Procedure
70 seconds after train departed, victim would fall and lay looking at the ceiling
If the victim received no help after the 8 minute journey, the model would help him up
Dependent variables
The time taken for the first passenger to offer help
The total number of passengers who helped
The gender, race and location of every helper
The time taken for the first passenger to offer help after the first model had assisted
Sample
Self selected sample
Sample size
Around 4450 men and women who used the trains on weekdays between 11am and 3pm between 15th April to 26th June (1968)
Quantitative Results
The ill victim received help 95% off the time compared to 50% for the drunk victim
90% of spontaneous helpers were male
Same race helping slightly more frequent
No strong relationship between number of bystanders and speed of helping
Conclusion
Cost-Reward model suggested
What is the cost-reward model?
Observation of an emergency created arousal.
This is higher if:
The more bystander can empathise
The closer they are
The longer the emergency continues
This is reduced by: Healing directly Going to get help Leaving the scene Rejecting victim as undeserving
Qualitative data
The longer the emergency continued the less impact the model had, the more likely it was individuals left the critical area, the more discussion that occurred about behaviour
Women commented that men should help
Advantages of the method?
Higher ecological validity and no demand characteristics in an everyday natural environment
Disadvantages of method?
More extraneous variables eg other person may collapse, heat makes Ps irritable
Can’t withdraw
Time consuming and expensive
Advantages of observation
Honest responses due to covert observation
Disadvantages of observation
Could get distracted
Not very accurate, may lose sight of hearing due to large crowds
Advantages of sample
Accurate representation of New York target population
Individual differences reduced due to large sample
Generalisability
Generalisable to confined spaces but not open areas
Controls
Duration of journey - 7 1/2 minutes
How and where victim fell
Clothes and smell of victim
Ethics
No debrief
No consent or right to withdraw
Ps know they will have no privacy
May increase stress but know person had been helped
Usefulness and application
Learned something - people do a cost benefit analysis during emergencies
French penalties for people who don’t help (raises cost)
