piliavin et al (subway samaritans)

Question 1

What is the psychology being investigated in the study by Piliavin et al

Answer 1

1)diffusion of responsibility;
-This is the idea that the more bystanders at an emergency scene the less likely the victim will receive help because the responsibility of helping spreads out amongst the people present at the scene

2) Modelling ;
This is the idea that the first helper models helping behaviour in others hence the other helpers could just be helping the helper

Question 2

What is the aim of the study by Piliavin

Answer 2

To test the effect of 4 variables on good samaritan helping behaviour ;

1)Group size , this was used to test the diffusion of responsibility

2)Type of victim , i,e whether the victim was a drunk or ill/cane victim

3)Race of the victim , i.e white or black

4) Modelling , whether the model was late or early

Question 3

What was the sample in the study by Piliavin et al

Answer 3

• 4450 men and women travelling on the the 8th avenue independent subway train in NYC
• The study was done on people who were using those trains between 11am and 3pm on weekdays

-The racial composition of the train was 45% black and 55% white

-The mean number of people per carriage was 43

-The mean number of people per critical area was 8.5

Question 4

What is the experimental method in the study by Piliavin

Answer 4

Field experiment
because it is happening on an everyday transport vessel , the 8th avenue IND trains

Question 5

What is the IV in the study by Piliavin

Answer 5

-Race of the victim
-Type of the victim
-Group size
-Type of model (late or early model)

Question 6

What is the DV in the study by Piliavin

Answer 6

-Latency of helping
-Frequency of helping
-Effect of model on helping behaviour
-Diffusion of responsibility

Question 7

What is the experimental design in the study by Piliavin

Answer 7

Independent measures design
because separate groups of passengers were used in each trial

Question 8

How long was a trial in the study by Piliavin

Answer 8

a trial consisted of a 7 1/2 min journey
between the 59 and 125th streets

Question 9

In the study by Piliavin team of 4 Colombian university general students were in each trial
What did the team consist of

Answer 9

-A victim
-A model
-2 female observers

Question 10

Describe the procedure in the study by Piliavin

Answer 10

on each trial there was a team of four colombian university students consisting of a model , a victim and 2 female observers

Each team varied the location of the experimental car from trail to trial
The female observers sat in the adjacent area of the experimental car.

The model and the victim would proceed to the critical area . The victim always stood in the center of the critical area next to a pole.

He would wait approximately 70 seconds after departure and then stagger forward and collapse

Until receiving help he would remain supine on the floor looking at the ceiling

If the victim received no assistance by the time the train slowed to a stop the model helped him to his feet
They would then disembark and wait separately until everyone had left the train before regrouping and then boarding the train heading in the opposite direction

Question 11

Describe the victims in in the study by Piliavin

Answer 11

-four victims were used in the study one from each team
-They were males between the ages of 26-35
-3 were white and 1 was black
-they were all identically dressed in eisenhower jackets , old slacks and no tie

Question 12

Describe the Drunk victim in the study by Piliavin

Answer 12

-he smelled of liquor and was carrying a liquor bottle wrapped tightly in a brown bag
-A total of 38 drunk trials were run

Question 13

Describe the Cane victim in the study by Piliavin

Answer 13

-He appeared sober and carried a black cane
-A total of 65 cane trials were run

Question 14

Describe the model in the study by Piliavin

Answer 14

-4 white males one from each team played the role of the model
-They were aged between 24-29 years
-They were dressed in informal clothes but not identically dressed

Question 15

Describe the critical area early condition in the study by Piliavin

Answer 15

The model stood in the critical area
he waited for approximately 70 seconds after collapse to help the victim

he would raise the victim to a sitting position and then sit with him for the remainder of the journey

Question 16

Describe the critical area late condition in the study by Piliavin

Answer 16

The model stood in the critical area
he would wait approximately 150 seconds after collapse before helping the victim

He would raise the victim to a sitting position and then sit with him for the remainder of the journey.

Question 17

Describe the adjacent area early condition in the study by Piliavin

Answer 17

The model stood in the adjacent area
he would wait approximately 70 seconds after collapse before helping the victim

He would raise the victim to a sitting position and the sit with him for the remainder of the journey

Question 18

Describe the adjacent area late condition in the study by Piliavin

Answer 18

The model stood in the adjacent area
he would wait approximately 150 seconds after collapse before helping the victim

he would raise the victim to a sitting position and then sit with him for the rest of the journey

Question 19

What data did observer one code/record in the study by Piliavin

Answer 19

-She recorded the ; race , sex and location of the passengers in the critical area

She counted the total number of passengers in the critical area and the total number of individuals who came to the victims assistance

Question 20

What data did observer 2 code/record in the study by Piliavin

Answer 20

-She recorded the race , sex and location of passengers in the adjacent area

the latency of the first helpers arrival after collapse
latency of the first helpers arrival after the model
spontaneous comments made by nearby passengers

Question 21

What are the frequency of helping results in the study by Piliavin

Answer 21

The cane victim received spontaneous help in 62/65 trials (95% of the time)

The drunk victim received spontaneous help in 19/38 of trials (50% of the time)

Question 22

What are the diffusion of responsibility results in the study by Piliavin

Answer 22

Groups of 7 or more (larger groups) helped faster than groups of 1-3 (smaller groups) this showed no diffusion of responsibility

Question 23

what are the race of helper results in the study by Piliavin

Answer 23

of the spontaneous first helpers 64% were white
of the 65 trials on which spontaneous help was offered to the white victim 68% of the helpers were white

of the 16 trials in which spontaneous help was offered to the black victim half of the first helpers were white

there was a slight tendency of same race helping in the drunk condition

Question 24

What are the modelling effect results in the study by Piliavin

Answer 24

the early model elicited help significantly more than the late model

Question 25

List 3 of the comments made by passengers in the study by Piliavin

Answer 25

“its for the men to help im not strong enough”
“i never saw this kind of thing before. i dont know where to look”
“You feel so bad that you don’t know what to do”

Question 26

What are the sex of helper results in the study by Piliavin

Answer 26

an average of 60% of people in the critical area were male
yet of the 81 spontaneous first helpers , 90% were males.
implying that males are more likely to help in emergency situations than females

Question 27

What are the conclusions of the study by Piliavin in relation to sex and helping

Answer 27

Given a mix group of male and women and a male victim , men are more likely to help than women

Question 28

What are the conclusions of the study by Piliavin in relation to race

Answer 28

Given a mixed racial group there is a tendency towards same race helping especially in the drunk victim condition

Question 29

What are the conclusions of the study by Piliavin in relation to speed of helping

Answer 29

The longer the emergency continues without help being offered

1)The less the impact of the model

2)The more likely it is that people will leave the critical area

3)The more likely it is that observers will discuss the incident

Question 30

What are the conclusions of the study by Piliavin in relation to diffusion of responsibility

Answer 30

There was no strong relationship between the no. of bystanders at the emergency and speed of help in the field i.e no diffusion of responsibility

Question 31

What is the cost-reward model

Answer 31

This is the idea that people asses the cost of helping against the benefits of helping
and the cost of not helping against the benefit of helping , before they offer help.

When a person witnesses an emergency they experience an emotional arousal , this state can be differently interpreted in different situations as fear , disgust , sympathy etc

He suggested that helping is motivated by a selfish desire to rid oneself of an unpleasant emotional state rather than being a positive, altruistic model of helping.
Helping a victim is based on the level of emotional arousal and the result of a cost/benefit analysis

this model, as applied in the study, looks at the decision-making process behind helping behavior. It posits that individuals weigh the potential costs (e.g., embarrassment, danger) against the rewards (e.g., self-satisfaction, public praise) when deciding whether to help someone.

Question 32

What are the conclusions in the study by Piliavin et al

Answer 32

Piliavin et al. proposed a Cost-Reward Model to explain people’s responses to an emergency

Question 33

Why is the study by Piliavin from the social approach

Answer 33

one of the assumptions of the social approach is that behaviour , emotions and cognitions can be influenced by groups

Groups of 7 people or more help faster than groups of 1 to 3. This is consistent with the assumption that behaviour of helping is influenced by group size

Question 34

Useful applications to everyday life from the study by Piliavin

Answer 34

Increasing awareness about same race helping especially in emergency situations e.g drunk victim condition

Cost benefit analysis - the idea that people make a rational cost benefit analysis can be used to assess the risks involved in an emergency and how likely it is that a victim will receive help

Question 35

how many cane trials were run

Answer 35

65

Question 36

how many drunk trials were run

Answer 36

38

Question 37

why were trains A and D selected in the study by piliavin

Answer 37

Trains A and D of the 8th Avenue IND were selected because they make no stops between the 59th and 125th street. Thus, the trails lasted during the 7.5-minute journey between these two stops