Piliavin Flashcards
Date of study
1968
Mean number of people in the critical area
8.5
Time that study took place
11am - 3pm
Where study took place
New York, USA subway, 8th Avenue subway
Research method
Field experiment (with observational techniques)
What did the victim do?
After 70 seconds, the victim staged a collapse. If no help, model steps in.
How many trials were used, in total?
103
There were four students in each ‘team’. What were their roles?
Male victim, model, 2 observers.
Number of trials for ‘drunk’ victim.
38
Number of trials for ‘sober’ victim.
65
The four model conditions
Early: 70
Late: 150
No Model
Critical/Adjacent area
What did observer one record?
Number of passengers, sex, race, total number who helped.
What did observer two record?
Comments, time taken to help, details of passengers in adjacent.
How often did the drunk victim receive help?
50%
How often did the ‘sober’ victim receive help?
95%
Percentage of drunk victims helped before the model stepped in.
17%
Percentage of sober victims helped before the model stepped in.
87%
Percentage of helpers that were male
90%
Race effect
‘SAME RACE EFFECT’
When were most comments made passengers?
When no help was offered.
Improvements
1) Cultural difference: Do the study elsewhere
2) Female victim
Diffusion of responsibility
Piliavin didn’t evidence of this.
Number of participants
4450, 4500 (approx)
