When Will People Help? The Effects of Gender, Urgency, and Location on Altruism

Abstract

It is important to determine when helpful behavior is likely to occur. The present experiment studied the effects of gender, urgency, and location on altruistic behavior. 64 phone calls were made by a woman who said her car had broken down and asked the person reached to call a number located either within or outside the person's calling district. Half of the callers said that this was her last dime (high urgency) and half that she had no more change (low urgency). 64 phone calls were made in a similar manner by male experimenters. The design of the experiment was a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial. All three main effects were significant. Women received assistance more rapidly than men; those with no money were helped more rapidly; and those asking for calls within the district were helped more quickly. Factors which facilitated altruism include amount of need, similarity to the person in need, and cost to the helper.

Children's Judgments About Prosocial Decisions and Emotions: Gender of the Helper and Recipient Matters

“…Stereotypically "female" qualities of weakness and dependence are inherent in prototypical prosocial dilemmas: A person needs help. Indeed, when in vulnerable situations, women more often receive help from strangers than men (Colaizzi, Williams, & Kayson, 1984;Piliavin & Charng, 1990). These stereotypical differences begin as early as preschool: Boys and girls view males as the more aggressive, strong, and "naughtier" sex (Giles & Heyman, 2004, 2005 and girls as nicer, more passive, and needy (Kortenhaus & Demarest, 1993;Miller, Lurye, Zosuls, & Ruble, 2009).…”

Charity brand personality: can smaller charitable organizations leverage their brand's personality to influence giving

“…For example, donors are more likely to donate when they perceive a charity as contributing value to society (Sargeant et al, 2004); when they have the desire to make a difference (Sargeant and Woodliffe, 2007); civic responsibility, egotism, progressivism, and scientific problem solving (Boris, 1987); and for the amelioration of suffering as well as to effect longer term improvements (Radley and Kennedy, 1995). Others have studied the relationship between a donor's self-image and their perception of a charity, finding that individuals are more likely to help those that are perceived as being similar to them (Coliazzi et al, 1984;Sargeant and Woodliffe, 2007). Sargeant and Woodliffe (2007) argue that donors may rely almost entirely on their perception of the organization in deciding to offer a donation, particularly in less personal forms of fundraising such as direct mail, press, or radio advertising.…”

Gift giving: an interdisciplinary review

“…In respect of the second variable, fit with desired self-image, Coliazzi et al (1984) noted that individuals are more likely to help those that are perceived as being similar to themselves. They will thus tend to filter those messages from charities existing to support disparate segments of society.…”