piliavin (1969)- subway samaritan Flashcards
research method
he study was a field experiment.
• The field situation was the A and D trains of the 8th Avenue New York Subway between 59th Street and 125 Street. The journeys lasted about
7½ minutes.
• The experiment had four independent variables (IVs):
(i) Type of victim (drunk or carrying a cane).
(ii) Race of victim (black or white).
(iii) Effect of a model (after 70 or 150 seconds, from the critical or adjacent area), or no model at all.
(iv) Size of the witnessing group (a naturally occurring independent variable).
• The dependent variables (DVs) - recorded by two female observers seated in the adjacent area - were:
(i) Frequency of help.
(ii) Speed of help.
(iii) Race of helper.
(iv) Sex of helper.
(v) Movement out of critical area.
(vi) Verbal comments by bystanders.
sample
• Participants were about 4,450 men and women who used the New York subway on weekdays between 11.00 am and 3.00 pm between April 15
and June 26, 1968.
• About 45% were black, 55% white
outline- procedure
There were 4 teams of 4 researchers: 2 female observers, 2 males – one acting as victim, one the model.
• The victims (3 white, 1 black) were all male, General Studies students, aged 26-35 years, and dressed alike. They either smelled of liquor and
carried a liquor bottle wrapped tightly in a brown bag or appeared sober and carried a black cane. In all aspects they acted identically in both
conditions.
• The models (all white) were males aged 24-29 years. There were 4 model conditions:
(i) Critical area - early.
(ii) Critical area – late.
(iii) Adjacent area – early
(iiii) Adjacent area- late
The observers recorded the dependent variables. On each trial one observer noted the race, sex and location of every rider seated or standing in
the critical area. In addition she counted the total number of individuals who came to the victim’s assistance. She also recorded the race, sex and
location of every helper. The second observer coded the race, sex and location of all persons in the adjacent area. She also recorded the latency
of the first helper’s arrival after the victim had fallen and on appropriate trials, the latency of the first helper’s arrival after the programmed model
had arrived. Both observers recorded comments spontaneously made by nearby passengers and attempted to elicit comments from a rider
sitting next to them.
• The victim stood near a pole in the critical area. After about 70 seconds he staggered forward and collapsed. Until receiving help he remained
supine on the floor looking at the ceiling. If he received no help by the time the train stopped the model helped him to his feet. At the stop the
team disembarked and waited separately until other passengers had left the station. They then changed platforms to repeat the process in the
opposite direction.
• Between 6-8 trials were run on a given day, all using the same ‘victim condition’.
• There were more cane trials than drunk trials which were distributed unevenly across black and white victims because Team 2 violated
intructions by running cane rather than drunk trials because the victim “didn’t like” playing the drunk! Subsequent student strikes prevented
additional trials to correct this
conclusions
An individual who appears ill is more likely to receive help than one who appears drunk.
• With mixed groups of men and women, men are more likely than women to help a male victim.
• With mixed-race groups, people are more likely to help those of the same race as themselves, particularly if they deem the victim’s situation to
be of his own making e.g. drunk.
• There is no strong relationship between number of bystanders and speed of helping when an incident is visible.
• When escape is not possible and bystanders are face-to-face with a victim, help is likely to be forthcoming.
• Bystanders conduct a cost-reward analysis before deciding whether or not to help a victim.
• Subsequent spontaneous help from others was irrespective of race or victim type
