pilliavin et al. (subway samaritans) Flashcards
define the study (type + where it took place)
a field experiment on bystander behavior which used observation as a technique and was conducted on nyc subway
define altruism
the concern for well-being of others without expecting anything in return
define a bystander
a person who is present but is not involved in a situation
aim of the study
to investigate bystander behavior in a natural setting and determine factors influencing said behaviour
what were the IVs (4)
- type of victim (drunk/cane)
- race of victim (black/white)
- behaviour of a model (help at 70s/150s)
- size of the bystander group (naturally occurring number of passengers in that part of the subway car)
what were the DVs (2)
- frequency of helping (how often passengers helped)
- speed of helping (how long it took for the passengers to help)
define the setting
nyc subway - A and D trains, 8th Av. IND)
train from brooklyn to bronx
no stops between 59th and 125th streets (7min)
old subway cars with 13 seats (2 seat group arrangement)
study was conducted on weekdays 11am - 3pm
describe the setting (picture)
(in notes app cut to add it u need pro ugh)
describe the participants
opportunity sampling (unsolicited passengers)
4,450 passangers (45% black, 55% white)
mean of passangers/carriage: 43
mean of passangers/critical area: 8.5
overview of the procedure
103 trials
4 research teams (stooges)
each team:
2 men (victims + model)
2 women (observers)
procedure: the victim
collapses after 70s
4 victims (3 white, 1 black)
casual clothing
two conditions:
drunk (38/103 trials) - smelled of alcohol, bottle in a brown bag
cane (65/103 trials) - appeared sober, carrying a black cane
procedure: the observers
observer 1:
race, sex, and location of passangers in CRITICAL area
total number of people + number of helpers
race, sex,location of rescuers
observer 2:
race, sex, location of passangers in the ADJACENT area
time taken to for help to arrive
both recorded the comments from passangers
key passanger comments (examples)
- “i wish i could help him, but im not strong enough”
- “it’s for the men to help him”
procedure: the model (description)
white men aged 29 - 40
dressed informally
helped the victim into a sitting position
procedure: model (conditions)
critical area - EARLY: model was in the critical area and went to help the victim after approximately 70seconds
critical area - LATE: model was in the critical area and went to help the victim after approximately 150seconds
adjacent area - EARLY: model was in the adjacent area ad went to help the victim after approximately 70seconds
adjacent area - LATE : model was in he adjacent area and went to help the victim after approximately 150seconds
conclusions/key findings(3)
- most people helped, even in a group setting
- no diffusion of responsibility was found
- factors affecting helping behavior (victim condition, race, gender, time)
key findings: 3. factors affecting helping behavior (4)
- victim condition: cane victim received more help than drunk victim
- gender of the helper: men were more likely to help than women
- race: same-race helping more likely, especially for drunk victims
- time: the longer the emergency continued, the less likely people were to help
name 2 strengths of the study
e.g.:
1. field experiment = high ecological validity
2. covert observation = no demand characteristics
3. quantitative data = objective and reliable (used two observers - inter-rater reliability)
name 2 weaknesses of the study
e.g.:
1. participants may have experienced multiple trials = possible demand characteristics
2. unrepresentative sample = only one subway line in NYC, may not be generalizable to other locations
