Case Study #7 ---------------- Piliavin(1969): Good Samaritanism: An underground phenomenon?

Apparatus

- A train with 13 seats - outfits: Casual - Eisenhower jacket with slacks and no tie - ILL/SICK condition: a black cane - drunk condtion: an alcohol scent and a brown paper bag with a liquor bottle inside

Evaluation Issues

- the "model of response to emergency situations" was over-generalized - due to the experiment being executed between 11 am and 3 pm, that time frame could have limited the sample of passengers used - informed consent was not provided, nor was a debriefing for obvious reasons - gender roles and expectations may have been major impediments to participant behaviors - the researchers could in no way have justified the fact that they placed everyday people in distressing situations

Conclusions

1. a person who seems to be ill would be more likely to receive help rather than someone who seems to be drunk 2. men are more likely to help than women 3. same-race helping is more likely, particularly when a victim appears to be intoxicated rather than sick 4. the expected diffusion of responsibility was not observed within this experiment 5. the longer an emergency is elongated, the less impact a model has and the more likely it is that people would leave the immediate area

Psychological Approach

Social

Procedure

1. the 4 team members positioned themselves on the train 2. after 70 seconds the victim would execute their role by staggering forward, collapsing, and then staring at the ceiling 3. if no one helped, then a model would step in (4 cond.) [critical/adjacent area; early: after 70 s.] [critical/adjacent area; late: after 150 s.] 4. the observers would then record all behavior that was shown during the trial 5. if no one helps, the model helps the victim to his feet and the team gets off at the next station where they cross over and repeat the procedure on the train going in the opposite direction. (6-8 trials per day)

AIMS

1. would the diffusion of responsibility behavior be seen in a real-life setting? 2. to see how the type and race of a victim affected the speed, frequency, and race of a helper 3. if a model was used to help, would other people join in and help too? 4. to examine the relationship between the size of a group, frequency, and latency of helping response with a face-to-face victim

Participants

4450 people that were unaware of their participation in the experiment and in turn did not give their consent. (approx. 45 percent black and 55 percent white)

Variables

Independents: 1. victim type - iLL or drunk 2. victim race - light skin or dark skin 3. model conditions (critical; Early/Late or adjacent; early/late) Dependents: frequency and speed of helping and sex and race of the helper

The experiment obtain an independent groups design

Setting: A New York subway, independent line ( 7 minute and 30 seconds ride) between 11 am and 3 pm.

Background

The 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese which was witnessed by 38 surrounding people which did nothing to help appalled psychologists all around; therefore the bystander effect was studied more efficiently and thus experimented with. Additionally, these lab experiments generated the behavior which was termed "diffusion of responsibility".

Method

field experiment with the use of naturalistic observation

Experimentors

students from Columbia University 4 male victims: 3 white + 1 black 4 male models: all white 8 female observers 4 teams in total with 1 victim, 1 model, + 2 obsevers