Piliavin's Good Samaritanism Flashcards
How many subjects were in the experiment?
4450 men and women
Where did the experiment take place?
On the 8th Avenue IND line in New York City
When did the experiment take place?
Weekdays between the hours of 11am and 3pm during the period of April 15th to June 26th, 1968
What is the journey of the train?
Harlem to the Bronx
What was the racial composition of the train?
45% black and 55% white
What was the mean number of people per carriage?
43
What was the mean number of people in the “critical area”?
8.5
Which trains were selected and why?
The A and D trains because they made no stops between 59th Street and 125th Street
For how long was there a captive audience and how many seconds into the journey did the victim faint?
About 7.5 minutes
After the first 70 seconds the victim fainted
Why were the trials only run on old New York Subway cars?
They had two-person seats in a group arrangement rather than extended seats
Where was the designated critical area?
The end section of any car whose doors led to the next car
How many seats were there in the critical area?
13 seats plus some standing room
What were the teams made up of?
Four Columbia General Studies students- two males, two females
How many different teams were there?
Four
How many different trials did the teams do?
103
What did the female members of the teams do in the trial?
Took seats outside of the critical area and recorded the data as unobtrusively as possible
What did the ‘victim’ do in the trial?
He always stood next to a pole in the middle of the critical area
As the train passed the first station, the victim staggered forward and collapsed
Until the victim received help, he would remain on the floor, looking at the ceiling
What did the ‘model’ do in the trial?
If the ‘victim’ received no help by the time the train had come to a stop, the ‘model’ helped him to his feet
Where did the team disembark?
At the stop
How many trials were run on a given day?
6 to 8
What were the ages of the four ‘victims’?
Between 26 and 35
What was the race of each of the four ‘victims’?
3 were white, 1 was black
What were the ‘victims’ wearing?
All dressed identically in Eisenhower jackets, old slacks and no tie
In how many of the trials did the ‘victim’ smell of liquor and what did the men carry in this trial?
38 trials
A liquor bottle tightly wrapped in a brown bag
What was the condition of the ‘victims’ in 65 of the trials and what did they carry in these trials?
The men appeared sober
They carried a black cane
What was the race of each of the four ‘models’
All four were white
What were the ages of the four ‘models’?
Between 24 and 29
What were the ‘models’ wearing?
They were all dressed in informal clothing but they were not dressed identically
How many different ‘model’ conditions were there?
Four
What was the ‘Critical area- early’ condition?
‘Model’ stood in critical area and waited until passing the fourth station to assist victim (about 70 seconds after collapse)
What was the ‘Critical area- late’ condition?
‘Model’ stood in critical area and waited until passing the sixth station to assist victim (about 150 seconds after collapse)
What was the ‘Adjacent area- early’ condition?
‘Model’ stood in middle of car in area adjacent to critical area and waited until passing fourth station to assist victim (about 70 seconds after collapse)
What was the ‘Adjacent area- late’ condition?
‘Model’ stood in adjacent area and waited until passing sixth station to assist victim (about 150 seconds after collapse)
