The nature of the helper and the nature of the victim are shown to have an effect on whether we help or not. Gender, personality, dress, beliefs and the physical state of the helper are some factors that can influence a person’s decision. A meta-analysis based on 99 studies about the influence of gender on helping behaviour has shown that men helped more often than women did and were more likely to help women than men. Women also received more help than men (Eagly & Crowley, 1986).
The nature of the victim influences the helpfulness of the bystander also. ‘Worthiness’ of help, the seriousness of the situation, the victim’s physical appearance, their race, how similar they are to the helper and their appearance are all influential factors. Piliavin et al., (1969) conducted a study in a railway carriage in which a ‘victim’ collapsed, sometimes carrying a cane and other times a liquor bottle. The victim with the cane received more help than the ‘drunk’ victim. Victims are more likely to be helped if they are seen as deserving causes, rather than the cause of their own misfortune (Bar-Tal, 1976).
Can we increase helpfulness? Research points to a number of ways to increase prosocial helping behaviour. Firstly, people need to reduce ambiguity. If people are taught about Latané and Darley’s intervention model, how to interpret an incident and assume responsibility this could aid their involvement. Students who have heard lectures on bystander’s inaction during an emergency, have been found more likely to help, in an emergency staged a few weeks later, than those students who did not hear the lecture (Myers, 1999).
Exposure to prosocial models has been another effective approach for increasing helpfulness. Researchers have found that blood donations increased after students viewed a video of other students donating blood (Passer & Smith, 2001). Appeals for blood have also been found to be more effective when they are from friends rather than from media drives (Myers, 1999).
There has been mixed research results from people who have experienced mandatory volunteerism in colleges and businesses, in terms of increasing volunteerism later in life (Passer & Smith, 2001). Perhaps instead, the promotion of volunteerism through the media may increase helpfulness. Encourage people to do something for their community and develop empathy with others.
Finally if we learn about altruism, then this may increase helpfulness. Research has shown that if we see other people helping then we are more likely to offer help. This was seen to occur within families of European Christians who risked their lives to save Jews during the war (Myers, 1999). Increase helpfulness by encouraging children to help each other and teach this explicitly, also teach norms that support helping and cooperation.
Rather than being simple, the decision to help someone is a relatively complex one. It involves the interaction of many factors. There are other issues involved in bystander intervention other than those suggested by Latané and Darley. Most notably, it allows no space for the role of society and culture in shaping intervention. The ‘group’ is never seen as introducing collective values to the situation but only as undermining individual values. We all belong to a variety of social groups: the same person may be New Zealander, a man, a Maori, a Catholic and so on. At different times these different category memberships, will be important to him. When any given social identity is salient, the person will act in terms of the beliefs, values and norms associated with the relevant category. They will also regard others and act towards others on the basis of whether they belong to the same category or not. We are defined as much through the acts and experiences of fellow category members as through our own acts and experiences. In the context of providing help, this would suggest that an understanding of how bystanders act depends, first of all, upon an analysis of how bystanders identify themselves, their relationships with other bystanders and with the victim. Secondly, it depends upon an analysis of the norms and values associated with the bystander identity. There are modern examples of ‘heroes’ on whom research could be conducted, and in telling these stories we would add to the cultural store of hopeful accounts, while coming to a better understanding of the psychological and social factors which make them possible. We are not born with the readiness to be helpful, but we are born with a predisposition to this state, which can be developed.
References
Bar-Tal, D. (1976). Prosocial behavior: theory and research. Washington: Hemisphere Publishing Corporation.
Eagly, A.H., & Crowley, M. (1986). Gender and helping behavior: a
meta analytic review of the social psychological literature. Psychological Bulletin, 100, 283-308.
Myers, D.G. (1999). Social psychology (6th ed.). Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Passer, M.W., & Smith, R.E. (2001). Psychology : frontiers and applications.
Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Rubin, Z. (1974). Doing unto others. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.