Field Experiments of Prosocial Behavior:
Gender, Density and Cultural Group
Keywords:
Prosocial behavior, Social categorization, Environment density, GenderAbstract
Civility is a prosocial behavior regulated by tacit social norms. However, few studies have investigated the factors determining civility in urban contexts. The purpose of this paper was to test the influence of gender, pedestrian density, and social categorization on civility. Three field experiments simulated everyday social situations. Results showed an overall help frequency above 65%. Study 1 revealed that civility is influenced by the gender of the researcher and density of pedestrians. Studies 2 and 3 found no support for an endogroup favoritism hypothesis, as predicted by social identity theories. The theoretical and practical implications of theses findings for civility are discussed.
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References
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Stürmer, S., Snyder, M., Krop, A., & Siem, B. (2006). Empathy-motivated helping: The moderating role of group membership. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, 943-956.
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Triandis, H. C., Marín, G., Lisansky, J., & Betancourt, H. (1984). Simpatía as a cultural script of hipanics. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 1363-1375.
Van de Vliert, E., Huang, X., & Levine, R. V. (2004). National wealth and thermal climate as predictors of motives for volunteer work. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 35, 62-73.
Batson, C. D. (1998). Altruism and prosocial behavior. Em D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske & G. Lindzey (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology, Vol. 2 (pp. 282-316). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Batson, C. D., van Lange, P. A. M., Ahmad, N., & Lishner, D. L. (2003). Altruism and helping behavior. In M. Hogg & J. Cooper (Eds.), The SAGE handbook of social psychology, Vol. 1 (pp. 279-295). London: SAGE.
Cialdini, R. B., & Trost, M. R. (1998). Social influence: Social norms, conformity, and compliance. Em D. T. Gilbert, S. T. Fiske & G. Lindzey (Eds.), The handbook of social psychology, Vol. 2 (pp. 151-192). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Dovidio, J. F., & Penner, L. A. (2001). Helping and altruism. Em G. J. O. Fletcher & M. S. Clark (Eds.), Blakwell handbook of social psychology: Interpersonal processes (pp. 162-195). Oxford: Blackwell.
Dovidio, J. F., Piliavin, J. A., Schroeder, D. A., & Penner, L. A. (2006). The social psychology of prosocial behavior. New York: Lawrence Earlbaum.
Kemmelmeier, M., Jambor, E., & Letner, J. (2006). Individualism and good works: Cultural variation in giving and volunteering across the united states. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 37, 327-344.
Knafo, A., Schwartz, S. H., & Levine, R. V. (2009). Helping strangers is lower in embedded cultures. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 40, 875-879.
Levine, M., Prosser, A., Evans, D., & Reicher, S. (2005). Identity and emergency intervention: How social group membership and inclusiveness of group boundaries shape helping behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 443-453.
Levine, R. V., Martinez, T. S., Brase, G., & Sorenson, K. (1994). Helping in 36 U.S. cities. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 69-82.
Levine, R. V., Norenzayan, A., & Philbrick, K. (2001). Cross-cultural differences in helping strangers. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 32, 543-560.
Levine, R. V., Reysen, S., & Ganz, E. (2008). The kindness of strangers revisited: A comparision of 24 US cities. Social Indicators Research, 85, 461-481.
Milgram, S. (1970). The experience of living in cities: Adaptations to urban overload and noise on behavior. Science, 167, 1461-1468.
Moser, G., & Corroyer, D. (2001). Politeness in the urban environment: Is city life still synonymus with civility? Environment and Behavior, 33, 611-625.
Pearce, P. L., & Amato, P. R. (1980). A taxonomy of helping: A multidimensional analysis. Social Psychology Quarterly, 43, 363-371.
Penner, L. A., Dovidio, J. F., Piliavin, J. A., & Schroeder, D. A. (2005). Prosocial behavior: Multilevel perspective. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 365-392.
Robbins, J. M., & Krueger, J. M. (2005). Social projection to ingroups and outgroups: A review and meta-analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 9, 32-47.
Sagarin, B. J., & Lawler-Sagarin, K. A. (2005). Critically evaluating competing theories: An exercise based on Kitty Genovese murder. Teaching of Psychology, 32, 167-169.
Silva, A. V., & Günther, H. (1999). Comportamento de ajuda no contexto urbano: um estudo experimental por meio do telefone. Psicologia: Teoria e Pesquisa, 15, 189-197.
Silva, A. V., & Günther, H. (2001). Ajuda entre passageiros de ônibus. Estudos de Psicologia (Natal), 6, 75-82.
Silva, A. V., Günther, H., Lara, A. A., Cunha, L. F., & Almeida, V. J. S. (1998). Técnicas da carta-perdida como instrumento de pesquisa social: Um estudo sobre preconceito e ajuda. Psicologia Reflexão e Crítica, 11, 1-12.
Stürmer, S., & Snyder, M. (2010). The psychological study of group processes and intergroup relations in prosocial behavior: Past, Present, and Future. Em S. Stürmer & M. Snyder (Eds.), The psychology of prosocial behavior (pp. 3-10). Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell.
Stürmer, S., Snyder, M., Krop, A., & Siem, B. (2006). Empathy-motivated helping: The moderating role of group membership. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, 943-956.
Stürmer, S., Snyder, M., & Omoto, A. M. (2005). Prosocial emotions and helping: The moderating role of group membership. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 88, 532-546.
Triandis, H. C., Marín, G., Lisansky, J., & Betancourt, H. (1984). Simpatía as a cultural script of hipanics. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 1363-1375.
Van de Vliert, E., Huang, X., & Levine, R. V. (2004). National wealth and thermal climate as predictors of motives for volunteer work. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 35, 62-73.
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Published
2010-07-30
How to Cite
Pilati, R., Iglesias, F., Requião de Lima, B., & Vieira de Simone, C. (2010). Field Experiments of Prosocial Behavior:: Gender, Density and Cultural Group. Psicologia: Teoria E Pesquisa, 26(2), 361–370. Retrieved from https://periodicos.unb.br/index.php/revistaptp/article/view/17807
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Section
Estudos Empíricos
