Pillavain et. al- Subway Samaritan

Question 1

Aim

Answer 1

• To investigate helping behaviour in a natural environment
• To understand conditions in which people might help

Question 2

Procedure

Answer 2

• 4500 passengers in subway (Male and Female)
• Observation was done from 11 am-3pm
• Four students (confederates) would note down what would happen, race, sex of other passengers
• Victim was either drunk/blind and had to collapse when train passed first station
• Model was instructed to help if no one helped them after 90 seconds (first station) or 150 seconds (sixth station)

Question 3

Results

Answer 3

• In 62/65 trials, passengers helped victim before model intervened
• In 19/38 trials the victim appeared drunk, passengers helped before the model
• There was a tendency for the same race to help victim who was drunk
• 50% of white passengers helped black victims
• Men were the first ones to help

Question 4

Conclusion

Answer 4

• People are more likely to help ill than drunk victim
• Men are more likely to help than women
• People are more likely to help in larger groups
• Small tendency for “same race” to help

Question 5

Strength

Answer 5

• Study was conducted in natural environment and has ecological validity as passengers would behave naturally
• Findings are reliable as four people wrote down results and so will not be biased

Question 6

Weakness

Answer 6

• Was not ethical, participants were not informed that they were a part of this study
• If study was conducted in a laboratory, participants would know they were being observed and might show demand characteristics