social area (Levine) unit 2

Question 1

aims

Answer 1

to see if helping strangers varies between cultures
to see if helping strangers is a characteristic of a culture that is stable across different helping situations
To investigate characteristics of communities (beyond population size) that might be related to helping of strangers

Question 2

sample

Answer 2

data was collected from 23 countries
data was collected from the largest city
data was collected through summer months from 1991-1997

Question 3

procedure

Answer 3

Drop a pen whilst walking along. (This was done over 400 times)
Drop a pile of magazines whilst walking with a heavy limp and wearing a large and clearly visible leg brace. (This was done nearly 500 times)
Act like a blind person needing help to cross the road (they wore dark glasses and carried white canes in this scenario) (This was done nearly 300 times)

Question 4

conclusions

Answer 4

considerable variation was found between cultures in helping behaviour
most helpful city- Rio de Janeiro 93%
least Kuala Lumpur 40%

Question 5

dependant variables

Answer 5

In one condition of Levine’s study, the dependent variable was the rate at which people helped the experimenter. This was measured by observing how many people offered assistance in different scenarios, such as helping a blind person cross the street,

Question 6

how does levine link to the key theme of responses to people in need

Answer 6

Levine’s study on cross-cultural differences in helping strangers directly addresses the key theme of responses to people in need by demonstrating how helping behavior varies significantly across cultures

Question 7

community variables

Answer 7

population size
PURCHASING PARITY
INDIVIDUALIST VS COLLECTIVIST
PACE OF LIFE