piliavins subway study

Question 1

what is the aim of piliavins study

Answer 1

to investigate the effect that a victims appearance would have on helping behaviour

Question 2

what is the method of piliavins study

Answer 2

this study was a field experiment carried out on a subway train in new york city. on a number of different journeys, an actor or a confederate pretended to collapse in a train carriage. each time, the actors appearance was changed. in some trials he appeared to be drunk ( he spelt of alcohol and had a bottle of alcohol wrapped in a paper bag), in the other he appeared to be disabled (sober and carrying a walking stick). observers recorded how often and how quickly the actor/ victim was helped.

Question 3

what are the results of piliavins study

Answer 3

when the actor/victim was carrying a walking stick, he helped within 70 seconds, 95% of the time. when he appeared to be drunk, he had help within 70 seconds, 50% of the time

Question 4

what is bystander behaviour

Answer 4

the actions a person takes when they see someone needing help

Question 5

prosocial behaviour

Answer 5

occurs when people act to benefit others rather than themselves. studies show when people see someone act prosocially they tend to aswell