frustration more likely to lead to aggression?
bola63
Topic6reading4ContentServer.pdf
241
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/14272-013 Geographical Psychology: Exploring the Interaction of Environment and Behavior, P. J. Rentfrow (Editor) Copyright © 2014 by the American Psychological Association. All rights reserved.
12
The guiding mantra of modern academic social psychology is the power of the situation—the belief that features of the situation exert considerably more influence on our behavior than people generally think they do. In this chapter, we take a broad view of what this means by exploring aspects of the situation at multiple levels, including not only the particulars of the immedi- ate situation but also the aspects of the culture that create the environment in which it occurs, and we attempt to demonstrate how these factors are reflected in social psychological differences at the geographic level. Specifically, our analysis focuses on differences between cities in helpfulness toward strangers. We include discussions of studies of these differences across cities around the world and within the United States.
The topic of helpfulness taps into the analysis of altruism, which has been a central concern of modern evolutionary theory. The psychology of
PEoPlE, CUlTURE, And PlACE: HoW PlACE PREdICTS HElPIng
ToWARd STRAngERS
STEPHEn REySEn And RobERT V. lEVInE
13351-13_CH12-2ndPgs.indd 241 7/8/13 4:40 PM
Co py
ri gh
t Am
er ic an
P sy ch ol
og ic al A ss oc ia ti on . No t fo r fu
rt he
r di
st ri
bu ti
on .
242 reysen and levine
altruism critically depends on (a) the recipient of the altruistic act, whether it is targeted toward kin (Hamilton, 1964) or reciprocating strangers (Trivers, 1985), and (b) the biological significance of the helpful act (i.e., whether it is an everyday favor vs. a lifesaving move; burnstein, Crandall, & Kitayama, 1994). Although people everywhere may be equipped with the same social psychological heuristics that make various forms of human altruism possible (burnstein et al., 1994; Cosmides & Tooby, 1992), the geographic-level data examined later in this chapter indicate that the rate of actual helping behav- ior for stranger-to-stranger everyday favors varies greatly from city to city and is profoundly affected by local conditions such as economic well-being, cul- tural patterns, and other factors yet to be identified. Indeed, the coevolution of culture and psyche suggests that the mental mechanisms that afford altru- ism (and conditional boundaries of helping others) are themselves dynami- cally shaped through interactions between previous generations of humans (see Adams & Markus, 2004).
MUTUAl ConSTITUTIon THEoRy of CUlTURE
Cultural psychologists have converged on the notion that culture and psyche are mutually linked in a dialectical relationship (Shweder, 1990). The mutual constitution theory of culture emphasizes the reciprocal interaction of the person in producing, reproducing, and modifying cultural worlds and simultaneously being influenced and actively interacting with the environ- mental settings in which one is embedded. Contrary to viewing culture as a monolithic force influencing passive recipients, the mutual constitution theory represents culture as patterns.
The patterns view of culture, as eloquently detailed by Adams and Markus (2004), implies that individuals create culturally afforded intentional worlds filled with meaning:
Culture consists of explicit and implicit patterns of historically derived and selected ideas and their embodiment in institutions, practices, and artifacts; cultural patterns may, on one hand, be considered as products of action, and on the other as conditioning elements of further action. (p. 341)
Through the construction of one’s environment (e.g., conversations with others, creation of artifacts such as architecture, news, entertainment), indi- viduals are constantly shaping and being conditioned by the environments in which they are embedded. In other words, environments are culturally con- structed, and individuals reproduce, reject, or modify those environments, thereby either reinforcing or changing the cultural patterns.
13351-13_CH12-2ndPgs.indd 242 7/8/13 4:40 PM
Co py
ri gh
t Am
er ic an
P sy ch ol
og ic al A ss oc ia ti on . No t fo r fu
rt he
r di
st ri
bu ti
on .
people, culture, and place 243
AUToMATICITy And PRIMIng
Insight into how these dynamics operate may be seen in two concepts that are currently receiving a great deal of attention in social–cognitive psy- chology: automaticity and priming. A wealth of research demonstrates that unconsciously activated norms, stereotypes, goals, and emotions influence subsequent behavior, thoughts, and perceptions (bargh, 1997, 2006). This is certainly the case for the behavior of helpfulness; it has been shown that every- day environmental cues can elicit helping behaviors outside of the conscious awareness of the helper. for example, guéguen, Jacob, and Charles-Sire (2011) manipulated the shape of a donation box to resemble a heart (or control shape) and received more donations in the heart box, presumably due to priming the concept of love. other research has shown that priming helping-related words (Macrae & Johnston, 1998), friendship (fitzsimons & bargh, 2003), prosocial model roles such as superheroes (nelson & norton, 2005), noncon- scious mimicry during a social interaction (van baaren, Holland, Kawakami, & van Knippenberg, 2004), and images of two figures facing one another in an affiliative pose (over & Carpenter, 2009) lead to subsequent helping behaviors.
normative patterns and environmental aspects (e.g., population density) are also embedded in cultural spaces. for example, viewing another person helping suggests a social norm (or pattern) leading to a greater likelihood that the viewer will also help (Cialdini, 2007). In this respect, cultural patterns of helping are afforded to individuals when viewing others within the culture per- forming helping behaviors. observers in these environments are more likely to help others because they are unconsciously primed to help by viewing the helping behavior. Although environments can prime helping, the presence of others in one’s space can also inhibit prosocial behaviors. latané and darley (1970) showed how the presence of others in one’s physical environment, or even priming the perception that other people are present (garcia, Weaver, Moskowitz, & darley, 2002), can inhibit helping behaviors. later research showed that the extent to which people feel that others are evaluating them moderates the inhibition of helping. In situations in which people believe they are under public scrutiny, priming the perception of others increases helping behaviors (garcia, Weaver, darley, & Spence, 2009).
oTHER fACToRS
beyond the immediate environmental influences, researchers can also examine distal factors (e.g., macroenvironmental aspects) that may influence geographic variations in helping (oishi & graham, 2010). It is important to
13351-13_CH12-2ndPgs.indd 243 7/8/13 4:40 PM
Co py
ri gh
t Am
er ic an
P sy ch ol
og ic al A ss oc ia ti on . No t fo r fu
rt he
r di
st ri
bu ti
on .
244 reysen and levine
note that the relationship between macroenvironment, culture, and mind are all interconnected and mutually constituted. In the following section, we review a program of research conducted by the second author and his colleagues that demonstrates the richness of these relationships in a particular domain of everyday social behavior—the relative frequency of helping strangers in dif- ferent cities. Underlying this research is the notion that cities are environ- mental settings that are filled with cultural patterns, and, therefore, differences between cities highlight differences in cultural patterns toward helping others.
This is not to say that cultural patterns are determined by arbitrary national boundaries or group memberships per se. Rather, we argue that the preponderance of cultural patterns, immediate environment (e.g., popula- tion density), and macroenvironmental factors (e.g., economic system) in a particular geographic area influence the norms for helping people in those settings. In other words, geographic differences may provide us with a window on the workings of culture.
We now turn to a description of studies that we believe demonstrate the value of a geographic approach toward examining the relationship between environmental factors and helping behavior. These studies have focused on two major questions: first, are there differences in helpfulness toward strang- ers between cities in different countries and regions? Second, are there char- acteristics of these communities—demographic, social, environmental and economic conditions—that predict these differences?
HElPIng In 23 CITIES ARoUnd THE WoRld
R. V. levine, norenzayan, and Philbrick (2001) assessed helping behavior and pace of life in 23 cities around the world and examined the relationship of these differences to multiple environmental and macro- environmental factors. Students traveling abroad (mostly traveling home for summer vacation) served as experimenters to collect data in the down- town areas during business hours on clear summer days. The cities included Amsterdam (the netherlands), bangkok (Thailand), bucharest (Romania), budapest (Hungary), Calcutta (India), Copenhagen (denmark), Kuala lumpur (Malaysia), lilongwe (Malawi), Madrid (Spain), Mexico City (Mexico), new york City (United States), Prague (Czech Republic), Rio de Janeiro (brazil), Rome (Italy), San Jose (Costa Rica), San Salvador (El Salvador), Shanghai (China), Singapore (Singapore), Sofia (bulgaria), Stockholm (Sweden), Taipei (Taiwan), Tel Aviv (Israel), and Vienna (Austria). See figure 12.1 for a map of data collection sites.
Participants were individuals in these cities who were over the age of 18 and not visibly physically disabled or unable to help (e.g., carrying packages).
13351-13_CH12-2ndPgs.indd 244 7/8/13 4:40 PM
Co py
ri gh
t Am
er ic an
P sy ch ol
og ic al A ss oc ia ti on . No t fo r fu
rt he
r di
st ri
bu ti
on .
people, culture, and place 245
F ig
u re
1 2 .1
. M
a p o
f d a ta
c o lle
ct io
n s
ite s.
C iti
e s
in g
re y
w e re
a ss
e ss
e d in
L e vi
n e e
t a l.
(2 0 0 1 ),
c iti
e s
in li
g h
t g re
y w
e re
a ss
e ss
e d
in L
e vi
n e
e t a l.
(1 9 9 4 ),
a n d c
iti e s
in b
la ck
w e re
o m
itt e d d
u e t o is
su e s
w ith
d a ta
c o lle
ct io
n . F
ro m
“ T
h e K
in d n
e ss
o f S
tr a
n g
e rs
,” b y
R . L
e vi
n e , 2
0 0
3 ,
A m
e ri
ca n S
ci e n tis
t, 9
1 , p . 2
2 8 . C
o p yr
ig h t 2 0 0 3 b
y S
ig m
a X
i, T
h e S
ci e n tifi
c R
e se
a rc
h S
o ci
e ty
. R e
p ri
n te
d w
ith p
e rm
is si
o n
.
M ex
ic o C
it y
S an
S al
v ad
o r
S an
J o se
N ew
Y o rk
R io
d e
Ja n ei
ro
B u en
o s
A ir
es
L il
o n g w
e
N ai
ro b i
S in
g ap
o re
B an
g k o k
K o lk
at a
H o n g K
o n g
T ai
p eiT
o k y o
Ja k ar
ta
K u al
a L
u m
p u rS h an
g h ai
C o p en
h ag
en A
m st
er d am
M ad
ri d
R o m
e T
ir an
eS o fi
a B
u ch
ar es
t B
u d ap
es t
P ra
g u e
K ie
v
S to
ck h o lm
T el
A v iv
V ie
n n a
in cl
u d ed
i n i
n te
rn at
io n al
s tu
d y
in cl
u d ed
i n U
n it
ed S
ta te
s st
u d y
d at
a g at
h er
in g a
b an
d o n ed
13351-13_CH12-2ndPgs.indd 245 7/8/13 4:40 PM
Co py
ri gh
t Am
er ic an
P sy ch ol
og ic al A ss oc ia ti on . No t fo r fu
rt he
r di
st ri
bu ti
on .
246 reysen and levine
Three measures of helping were assessed. first, experimenters measured the proportion of passersby in each city who retrieved an “accidentally” dropped pen. Specifically, the experimenter walked at a moderate pace, reached into his or her pocket, and “accidentally” dropped a pen 10 to 15 feet in front of solitary pedestrians walking in the opposite direction (dropped pen measure). Participants were coded as helpful if they notified the experimenter that he or she had dropped the pen. In a second measure of helping, experimenters wore a large leg brace outside their clothing and dropped a stack of magazines within 20 feet of an oncoming pedestrian. Helpfulness was recorded if the participant offered to pick up the magazines for the experimenter who was displaying dif- ficulty in reaching to retrieve the magazines (hurt leg measure). As a third mea- sure of helping, experimenters acted the role of a blind person seeking help crossing the street. They wore dark glasses, carried white canes (both props provided by a local agency providing support to blind people), and acted visu- ally impaired while waiting at crosswalks containing traffic signals. Helping was shown when fellow pedestrians informed the experimenter when it was safe to cross the street (blind person measure).
four community variables were examined in relation to the helping behaviors described previously. first, experimenters looked at a measure of the pace of life in each city: the amount of time the average pedestrian took to walk 60 feet during main business hours in main downtown areas in each city. Second, using the United nations Demographic Yearbook (United nations, department of Economic and Social development, 1996), popu- lation size of the city was assessed for each metropolitan area. Third, eco- nomic well-being as experienced by the average citizen in terms of how much the average income is capable of purchasing goods (purchasing power parity) was adopted from the World bank (1996). last, six cross-cultural psychologists rated each country on perceived individualism–collectivism using Triandis’s (1996) definition (for more information about the measures, see R. V. levine et al., 2001).
The results indeed showed differing degrees of helping between the cit- ies (see figure 12.2). Analysis of the community characteristics showed that the cities’ pace of life (i.e., walking speed) was positively correlated with ratings of individualism and purchasing power but was unrelated to over- all helping (indexed by the three helping measures). The correlations with pace of life support prior research in 31 international cities (R. V. levine & norenzayan, 1999) showing walking speed to be positively related to colder climates, greater purchasing power, and greater individualism (i.e., cities with faster walking speeds are related to stronger economic productivity and more individualism). Purchasing power was correlated with greater individualism. of the four community variables, purchasing power was the best predictor of overall helping behavior, showing a moderately strong negative relationship.
13351-13_CH12-2ndPgs.indd 246 7/8/13 4:40 PM
Co py
ri gh
t Am
er ic an
P sy ch ol
og ic al A ss oc ia ti on . No t fo r fu
rt he
r di
st ri
bu ti
on .
people, culture, and place 247
Figure 12.2. City, country, city rank, and percentage of help in each city. From “The Kindness of Strangers,” by R. Levine, 2003, American Scientist, 91, p. 231. Copyright 2003 by Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. Reprinted with permission.
New York, United States 22
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Singapore, Singapore 21
Taipei, Taiwan 18
Sofia, Bulgaria 19
Rome, Italy 16
Bangkok, Thailand 17
Bucharest, Romania 14
Tel Aviv, Israel 15
Stockholm, Sweden 12
Budapest, Hungary 13
San Salvador, El Salvador
Prague, Czech Republic 11
Shanghai, China 8
Mexico City, Mexico 9
Madrid, Spain 6
Copenhagen, Denmark 7
Calcutta, India 4
Vienna, Austria 5
San Jose, Costa Rica 2
Lilongwe, Malawi 3
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1
0 20 40
Percentage of help
60 80 100
Hurt leg Blind personDropped pen
13351-13_CH12-2ndPgs.indd 247 7/8/13 4:40 PM
Co py
ri gh
t Am
er ic an
P sy ch ol
og ic al A ss oc ia ti on . No t fo r fu
rt he
r di
st ri
bu ti
on .
248 reysen and levine
A possible explanation is that individuals in cities with low purchasing power are relying on traditional value systems characterized by helping others in need.
These analyses led to further explanatory hypotheses. one interesting finding that emerged in the study was the general helpfulness of cities in latin America (in brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Mexico). All of the nations put a high value on the notion of simpatia. Simpatia is suggested to be a cultural norm characterized by values of minimization of conflict, respect and under- standing of others, and social harmony (Markus & lin, 1999). Consistent with the implied normative behavior, this cultural belief appears to be a strong predictor of helpfulness in this 23-city study.
Although this was not a major focus of the study, the researchers also examined gender differences in relation to helping the male experimenter on the dropped pen and hurt leg helping measures. Past research has sug- gested that men are more likely to help strangers than are women (see Eagly, 2009). The results showed no gender differences in helping. This result matches subsequent research showing few gender differences in helping for the dropped pen measure, regardless of whether the experimenter was male or female (Reysen & ganz, 2006). Although men may be more likely to help others (especially women in need), consistent with the masculine gender role, the measures used by R. V. levine et al. (2001) appear to be relatively gender neutral. A possible difference between the present research and prior studies on helping in realistic situations is the lack of threat or involvement related to helping (i.e., notifying another person she or he had dropped a pen) in the commonplace everyday situations used by the researchers.
Knafo, Schwartz, and levine (2009) also reanalyzed the data, includ- ing survey data reflecting cultural embeddedness from 21 countries in the sample. Embeddedness is a suggested cultural pattern characterized by valu- ing ingroup goals above personal goals, traditional order, and obedience to the ingroup while rejecting outgroup members. Using the Schwartz Value Survey (Schwartz, 1992), the dimensions of social order, respect for tradi- tion, security, and obedience were combined to form an index of embedded- ness for responses from participants in each of the 21 countries. Consistent with findings from the original study, gross domestic product per capita was strongly negatively related to helping. However, cultural embeddedness was also a unique predictor of helping. greater self-reported embeddedness from participants in the countries predicted less helping as assessed by R. V. levine and colleagues (2001). The authors suggested that embeddedness is related to helping ingroup members (i.e., close friends and family) but not perceived outgroup members (i.e., strangers).
The results of the 23-city study and Knafo et al.’s (2009) follow-up pro- vide an interesting link between economic purchasing power and two cultural
13351-13_CH12-2ndPgs.indd 248 7/8/13 4:40 PM
Co py
ri gh
t Am
er ic an
P sy ch ol
og ic al A ss oc ia ti on . No t fo r fu
rt he
r di
st ri
bu ti
on .
people, culture, and place 249
characteristics (simpatia, embeddedness) in predicting helping behavior in different places. Thus, both cultural norms and larger economic indicators were strongly related to whether individuals embedded in culturally diverse cities were willing to help a stranger in everyday settings.
HElPIng In CITIES ACRoSS THE UnITEd STATES
An accompanying series of studies looked at geocultural differences in helping within a single nation. Cultural patterns can shift from neighbor- hood to neighborhood, just as helping patterns can change from city to city or region to region. To examine helping across cities in differing regions and cities of differing sizes, R. V. levine, Martinez, brase, and Sorenson (1994) assessed helping behaviors in 36 cities in the United States. The cities were located in the northeast (boston, MA; buffalo, ny; new york City, ny; Patterson, nJ; Providence, RI; Philadelphia, PA; Rochester, ny; Springfield, MA; Worcester, MA), north central (Canton, oH; Chicago, Il; Columbus, oH; detroit, MI; lansing, MI; Indianapolis, In; Kansas City, Mo; St. louis, Mo; youngstown, oH), southern (Atlanta, gA; Chattanooga, Tn; dallas, TX; Houston, TX; Knoxville, Tn; louisville, Ky; Memphis, Tn; nashville, Tn; Shreveport, lA), and western (bakersfield, CA; fresno, CA; los Angeles, CA; Sacramento, CA; Salt lake City, UT; San diego, CA; San francisco, CA; San Jose, CA; Santa barbara, CA) regions of the United States. furthermore, within each region three cities contained populations that can be considered relatively small (350,000–600,000), medium (950,000–1,450,000), or large (2,000,000) in size.
Along with the three helping measures described earlier (dropped pen, hurt leg, blind person), R. V. levine and colleagues (1994) used three additional helping indices. first, experimenters approached pedestrians with a quarter in an outstretched hand and asked politely whether the participant had change for a quarter (change measure). Participants were marked as help- ful if they stopped and reached to check their pocket for change. Second, the experimenters placed “lost” letters on cars in city shopping areas with the note “I found this next to your car” (lost letter measure). The number of lost letters mailed to the researchers assessed the frequency of helping. last, the researchers included the per capita contributions to the United Way of America (1991) for each city as a measure of helping behavior. Community variables included population size, population density (per square mile), per capita income, unemployment rate, cost of living, quality of life index (boyer & Savageau, 1989), violent and property crime rates, environmental stress index (combination of measures including air, water, and sewage qual- ity, toxic releases, and population change), and pace of life (a combination
13351-13_CH12-2ndPgs.indd 249 7/8/13 4:40 PM
Co py
ri gh
t Am
er ic an
P sy ch ol
og ic al A ss oc ia ti on . No t fo r fu
rt he
r di
st ri
bu ti
on .
250 reysen and levine
of walking speed, work speed, talking speed, and concern for clock time, assessed by R. V. levine, lynch, Miyake, & lucia, 1989).
The results showed differing degrees of helping between the cities (see figure 12.3). Significant regional differences were found, with southern and northern central cities showing greater overall helping compared with north- eastern and western cities. Correlation analyses revealed population density (partialling out population size) and cost of living (partialling out population density) were negatively associated with overall helping. Population density and cost of living were also the strongest predictors of helping. The results were consistent with the international cities findings (R. V. levine et al., 2001); people in cities where individuals had greater purchasing power were less likely to help others in need. The cities assessed were diverse with respect to population size. However, population size was less important in predicting helping than population density.
Purchasing power of individuals embedded in these city settings was negatively associated with helping both across cities and regions. Southerners are stereotypically characterized as friendly (Jost, burgess, & Mosso, 2001), and the field data supported this cultural pattern. As with the international cities findings, both culturally normative patterns (southerners as helpful), a macroenvironmental factor (cost of living), and an environment factor (pop- ulation density) were interconnected with helping behaviors of individuals embedded in those settings.
CHAngES oVER TIME
These rankings of places provide information on a number of levels. Taken individually, they provide tangible information for study of the qual- ity of the helping environment in individual cities both within and across countries. In addition, however, these objective social indicators can be compared over time to mark trends in urban life in various locations. As cultural patterns are dynamically reproduced and modified to change over time, so too may the helping patterns observed in cities examined in the prior study. To examine possible change over time and its relationship to changes in environmental factors, roughly 12 years after R. V. levine et al.’s (1994) study, R. V. levine, Reysen, and ganz (2008) revisited 24 of the 36 U.S. cities in the original study to replicate a portion of helping and pace-of-life measurements.
The cities were located in the northeast (boston, MA; new york City, ny; Providence, RI; Rochester, ny; Springfield, MA; Worcester, MA), north central (Chicago, Il; detroit, MI; Indianapolis, In; Kansas City, Mo; lansing, MI; youngstown, oH), southern (Atlanta, gA; Chattanooga, Tn; dallas,
13351-13_CH12-2ndPgs.indd 250 7/8/13 4:40 PM
Co py
ri gh
t Am
er ic an
P sy ch ol
og ic al A ss oc ia ti on . No t fo r fu
rt he
r di
st ri
bu ti
on .
people, culture, and place 251
Figure 12.3. City, state, city rank, and percentage of help in each city. From “The Kindness of Strangers,” by R. Levine, 2003, American Scientist, 91, p. 230. Copyright 2003 by Sigma Xi, The Scientific Research Society. Reprinted with permission.
0
Paterson, New Jersey 36
New York, New York 35
Los Angeles, California 34
Fresno, California 33
Philadelphia,.....
Shreveport, Louisiana 31
Chicago, Illinois 30
Providence, Rhode Island,....
Boston, Massachusetts 28
Salt Lake City, Utah 27
Sacramento, California 26
Youngstown, Ohio 25
San Francisco, California 24
Buffalo, New York 23
Bakersfield, California 22
Atlanta, Georgia 21
Springfield,....
San Diego, California 19
San Jose, California 18
Dallas, Texas 17
Santa Barbara, California 16
Worcester, Massachusetts....
Kansas City, Missouri 14
Canton, Ohio 13
Columbus, Ohio 12
Indianapolis, Indiana 11
Chattanooga, Tennessee 10
East Lansing, Michigan 9
Detroit, Michigan 8
St. Louis, Missouri 7
Louisville, Kentucky 6
Knoxville, Tennessee 5
Memphis, Tennessee 4
Nashville, Tennessee 3
Houston, Texas 2
Rochester, New York 1
20 40
Percentage of help
60 80 100
Hurt leg Blind personDropped pen
13351-13_CH12-2ndPgs.indd 251 7/8/13 4:40 PM
Co py
ri gh
t Am
er ic an
P sy ch ol
og ic al A ss oc ia ti on . No t fo r fu
rt he
r di
st ri
bu ti
on .
252 reysen and levine
TX; Knoxville, Tn; louisville, Ky; nashville, Tn), and western (bakersfield, CA; fresno, CA; los Angeles, CA; Sacramento, CA; San francisco, CA; San Jose, CA) regions of the United States.
Helping was assessed with dropped pen, hurt leg, and asking for change measures (described earlier). Community variables included changes in population size, population density, average purchasing power, poverty rate, violent and property crime rate, and pace of life (walking speed). The rate of helping remained relatively similar across the two assessments, indicat- ing little change in the helping patterns of the cities assessed. Increases in population size and poverty were related to less helping, whereas increases in purchasing power and crime were related to greater helping. We revisited the original data set to conduct further analyses.
We first conducted an analysis of variance using region as an indepen- dent variable, overall helping in the second assessment (because helping fre- quently was relatively unchanged we used the 2005 helping assessment) as the dependent variable, and change in population size between measurement times as a covariate. Helping behaviors differed significantly by region of the country, F(3, 19) = 4.12, p = .021, hp2 = .39. Post hoc analyses (using a Sidak correction for multiple comparisons) showed that participants in southern cities (M = 1.75, SD = 1.82) were significantly more helpful than participants in western cities (M = -1.22, SD = 2.30), marginally significantly more help- ful than participants in northeastern cities (M = -0.62, SD = 2.71), and non- significantly different from participants in northern Central cities (M = 0.09, SD = 2.21). Thus, the pattern of regional differences matched those found in the R. V. levine et al. (1994) results when the change in population size of cities is taken into account.
next, we conducted partial correlations controlling for the experimenters coding of region of country (i.e., south, west, northern central, and northeastern regions) and the size of the city (i.e., small, medium, large). overall helping was significantly related to change in population density (r = -.53, p = .020), change in rates of poverty (r = -.70, p = .001), and change in overall crime rates (r = .56, p = .013). by controlling for the experimenters’ codings (region and city size), the associations between helping and purchasing power and population size fell to nonsignificant levels. The results support the prior U.S. cross-city examination (R. V. levine et al., 1994), with population density more strongly related to helping than population size.
overall, the results across time suggested that the patterns of help- ing behavior in the assessed cities remained unchanged. Indeed, each of the three helping indices was significantly correlated with the equivalent mea- sures 12 years after the initial observation. As found previously, there were regional differences that coincided with anecdotal reports of the southern and middle regions of the United States being more helpful than eastern or
13351-13_CH12-2ndPgs.indd 252 7/8/13 4:40 PM
Co py
ri gh
t Am
er ic an
P sy ch ol
og ic al A ss oc ia ti on . No t fo r fu
rt he
r di
st ri
bu ti
on .
people, culture, and place 253
western regions. In addition, the change in population density as negatively related to helping supports the prior 1994 study. The unexpected positive association between increase in crime and helping is difficult to interpret. Change in crime and poverty were strongly negatively associated (r = -.70, p = .001), such that greater poverty was related to less crime. Correlations partialling out poverty resulted in crime as nonsignificantly associated with helping, however when partialling out crime, poverty was still negatively significantly related to helping. In other words, the relationship of greater importance is between greater poverty and less helping. Although the prior studies showed that greater economic well-being was related to less helping at one point, the present results show that over 10 years the increase in poverty is related to lower everyday helping.
Although these studies are important in terms of examining real-world behaviors in everyday settings, a methodology rarely used in current social psychology (Cialdini, 2009; oishi & graham, 2010), the results do not pro- vide either a full picture of causal relationships or complete explanatory power. Thus far we have focused on the environmental aspects that have an influence on helping behavior. It would be naive to suggest that all behavior is externally controlled or that individuals do not have agency within situ- ations. In the following section, we review past research on the interaction between the person and the situation and describe new research examining the dynamic interactive effects of identity on helping across geographic spaces.
PERSon WITHIn EnVIRonMEnTS
In their classic seminary school experiment, darley and batson (1973) showed that environmental influence (being rushed to give a speech) was a better predictor of helping than person variables (personality, speech related to a valued identity). However, there are number of variables within the person that may affect whether individuals help in any given situation, such as their current emotional state (Zemack-Rugar, bettman, & fitzsimons, 2007), salient social identity (M. levine, Prosser, Evans, & Reicher, 2005), or the various other individual difference explanations for helping behavior: biological evolution (buss, 2003), personality (Eisenberg et al., 2002), and attachment (Van lange, otten, de bruin, & Joireman, 1997). for example, feeling sad is related to greater helping (Cialdini & fultz, 1990) but only when the helping task is pleasant (Isen & Simmonds, 1978). However, for individuals prone to feeling guilty, priming guilt (vs. sadness) leads to greater time volunteered to complete an unpleasant helping task (Zemack-Rugar et al., 2007). Although the research regarding the cultural patterns within
13351-13_CH12-2ndPgs.indd 253 7/8/13 4:40 PM
Co py
ri gh
t Am
er ic an
P sy ch ol
og ic al A ss oc ia ti on . No t fo r fu
rt he
r di
st ri
bu ti
on .
254 reysen and levine
and between cities (R. V. levine et al., 1994, 2001, 2008) and priming effects on helping show an environmental influence, whether a person helps is likely a dynamic interaction between the person and the environment, as suggested by Kurt lewin (1946): behavior (b) is a function (f) of the person (P) and his or her environment (E), b = f (P, E).
Researchers using a social identity perspective (Reicher, Spears, & Haslam, 2010; Tajfel & Turner, 1979; Turner, Hogg, oakes, Reicher, & Wetherell, 1987) have begun to focus on the effect of identity on helping (e.g., M. levine et al., 2005). When a particular group membership is salient, the more strongly one identifies with the group, the greater depersonalization and self-stereotyping occur in line with the group’s content—norms, beliefs, values, attitudes, behav- iors (Turner et al., 1987), emotions (Reysen & branscombe, 2008), and even personality (Jenkins, Reysen, & Katzarska-Miller, 2012). Consistent with the mutual constitution theory of culture, group members dynamically construct the content of the group, which in turn affects the self-concepts of those in the group (Postmes, baray, Haslam, Morton, & Swaab, 2006). because group memberships are often associated with, or are reciprocally influenced by, geo- graphic locations, they may produce differences in normative behavior across these geographic locations.
Social identity researchers consistently show helping behaviors directed toward ingroup, but not outgroup, members (Saucier, Miller, & doucet, 2005). Across the three studies conducted by R. V. levine and colleagues (1994, 2001, 2008), the lowest frequency of helping was often found in new york City (15.4% on dropped pen measure in R. V. levine et al., 2008). Reysen, levine, and ganz (2005) examined whether group membership would change new yorkers’ helping on the dropped pen measure by manipulating the shirt worn by the experimenter (Republican, democrat, or no symbol). Participants helped significantly more when the experimenter wore the democrat (57.7%) symbol compared with no symbol, whereas the control and Republican (36%) shirts did not result in significant differences in helping. given that the majority of new yorkers (66%) are registered democrats (new york State board of Elections, 2005), the results suggest that salience of ingroup membership can significantly influence helping, even in one of the most unhelpful cities.
group memberships are influenced by the geographic location in which individuals are embedded. Just as different geographically disparate cities showed varying degrees of helping (R. V. levine et al., 1994, 2001, 2008), cultural patterns in these settings could influence the degree to which individuals identify with certain groups. In a recent cross-national study (United States, bulgaria, and India), Katzarska-Miller, Reysen, Kamble, and Vithoji (2012) examined the relationship between identification with global citizens and endorsement of intergroup helping. Participants
13351-13_CH12-2ndPgs.indd 254 7/8/13 4:40 PM
Co py
ri gh
t Am
er ic an
P sy ch ol
og ic al A ss oc ia ti on . No t fo r fu
rt he
r di
st ri
bu ti
on .
people, culture, and place 255
sampled in America reported lower global citizenship identification than participants sampled in the other two countries. Supporting the notion that group memberships are influenced by the cultural spaces in which individuals are embedded, participant ratings of the extent their normative environment valued the identity mediated the comparison between cul- tural settings (United States vs. bulgaria, United States vs. India) and identi- fication with the group category—global citizen. furthermore, identification with the group mediated the relationship between comparison of the cul- tural spaces and endorsed intergroup helping. In line with prior theorizing (e.g., oxfam, 1997) and research finding the content of global citizenship identity to include helping outgroup members (Reysen & Katzarska-Miller, 2012), Katzarska-Miller and colleagues showed the influence of cultural space on identification with a group and desire to help others, even outside of one’s ingroup.
Together, social identity perspective and mutual constitution theory can provide a useful integrated framework to researchers examining geo- graphic influences of behavior. Although mutual constitution theory of cul- ture does not constrain the cultural patterns of reciprocal influence of culture and mind within any specific group (and rightly so), once a group label is consensually shared (e.g., American, San franciscan), social identity phe- nomena are likely to be found. Resolving the disconnect between mutual constitution theory and social identity perspective is a fruitful avenue for greater integration because the formation and maintenance of identity con- tent is highly interconnected with cultural patterns in which individuals are embedded.
ConClUSIon: A PSyCHology of PlACES
Cities are imbued with culturally constructed meanings, symbols, nor- mative patterns, identities, and macroenvironmental factors that influence and are constantly reproduced and modified by individuals that inhabit these everyday environments. Research conducted by R. V. levine and colleagues (1994, 2001, 2008) has highlighted the larger social–economic factors (pur- chasing power, poverty), characteristic cultural patterns (simpatia, southern regions of the United States), and immediate environmental settings (popula- tion density) that vary between cities internationally and regionally and affect helping behaviors in natural settings. Individuals influence and are influenced by everyday interaction with the environments they inhabit.
These geographic-level findings have something to offer to the evolution- ary analysis of altruism, as mentioned at the beginning of this chapter. It would be interesting to examine in future research the extent of cultural variability
13351-13_CH12-2ndPgs.indd 255 7/8/13 4:40 PM
Co py
ri gh
t Am
er ic an
P sy ch ol
og ic al A ss oc ia ti on . No t fo r fu
rt he
r di
st ri
bu ti
on .
256 reysen and levine
of other types of helping behavior. It stands to reason, for example, that more cross-cultural similarity in helping rates (or in helping intentions) would emerge in situations having strong evolutionary significance, such as when the helping act is targeted at a close relative whose life is at stake (burnstein et al., 1994).
In this chapter, we have made the assumption that places, like peo- ple, have their own “personalities.” Anselm Strauss (1976) wrote that “the entire complex of urban life can be thought of as a person rather than a distinctive place, and the city can be endowed with a personality of its own” (p. 14). Places are marked by their own cultures and subcultures—each with their unique set of temporal fingerprints. Some places are friendlier than others. We have long known that they feel that way, and the studies by R. V. levine and others (1994, 2001, 2008) have demonstrated that this feeling has empirical backing. There is variation within these cultures, but, overall, a stranger appears to be more likely to receive help in some places than in others.
The degree of variation in a culture may be viewed as a telling charac- teristic in itself. In Japan, for example, conformity is considered a virtue. A well-accepted Japanese saying is, “The nail that sticks up is quickly hammered down.” As a result, there is considerably greater public uniformity in Japan than within an individualistic culture such as the United States, where “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” The extent of cultural tightness represents a significant difference between these two countries.
There are dangers in making generalizations about the characteristics of places, particularly when they are directed at the collective “personalities” of their people. The notion of applying a single set of characteristics to an entire population, or to any group for that matter, makes for sloppy thinking. The fact is that individuals in any setting differ greatly. Assigning global labels to the people of a particular city or country is overstereotyping and, as such, is potentially destructive. but although it may be careless to overgeneralize about the people from a single place, it would be naive to deny the existence of significant, overall differences between places and the cultural patterns displayed by inhabitants.
Herein lies the usefulness of integrating social identity perspective and mutual constitution theory of culture. People dynamically construct, reproduce, and change the cultural patterns flowing within cities (and groups). following the patterns view, places contain a multitude of factors that are historically selected (and shaped and modified over time), embed- ded within the institutions and practices of people (e.g., everyday actions, products produced), and shaped and reciprocally shape individuals in which they are situated. once a label is attached to those places (either by those within the group or by outgroup members), the place’s characteristics are reified (in place and time), leading to essentializing, homogenizing, and stereotyping in line with a social identity perspective. Essentializing is viewing a group of
13351-13_CH12-2ndPgs.indd 256 7/8/13 4:40 PM
Co py
ri gh
t Am
er ic an
P sy ch ol
og ic al A ss oc ia ti on . No t fo r fu
rt he
r di
st ri
bu ti
on .
people, culture, and place 257
people (e.g., new yorkers) as sharing an essence (e.g., rudeness). The answer to why people help resides in the inter action between person and environment, both of which are influenced by culture. focusing solely on either person or environmental factors ignores the essential complexity of human behavior and the unseen influence prior generations of humans have on people today.
REfEREnCES
Adams, g., & Markus, H. R. (2004). Toward a conception of culture suitable for a social psychology of culture. In M. Schaller & C. S. Crandall (Eds.), The psychological foundations of culture (pp. 335–360). Mahwah, nJ: Erlbaum.
bargh, J. A. (1997). The automaticity of everyday life. In R. S. Wyer, Jr., (Ed.), The automaticity of everyday life: Advances in social cognition (Vol. 10, pp. 1–61). Mahwah, nJ: Erlbaum.
bargh, J. A. (2006). What have we been priming all these years? on the development, mechanisms, and ecology of nonconscious social behavior. European Journal of Social Psychology, 36, 147–168. doi:10.1002/ejsp.336
boyer, R., & Savageau, d. (1989). Places rated almanac. new york, ny: Prentice Hall. burnstein, E., Crandall, E., & Kitayama, E. (1994). Some neo-darwinian decision
rules for altruism: Weighing cues for inclusive fitness as a function of the biologi- cal importance of the decision. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 773–789. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.67.5.773
buss, d. (2003). Evolutionary psychology: The new science of the mind. boston, MA: Allyn & bacon.
Cialdini, R. b. (2007). descriptive social norms as underappreciated sources of social control. Psychometrika, 72, 263–268. doi:10.1007/s11336-006-1560-6
Cialdini, R. b. (2009). We have to break up. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 4, 5–6. doi:10.1111/j.1745-6924.2009.01091.x
Cialdini, R. b., & fultz, J. (1990). Interpreting the negative mood-helping litera- ture via “mega” analysis: A contrary view. Psychological Bulletin, 107, 210–214. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.107.2.210
Cosmides, l., & Tooby, J. (1992). Cognitive adaptations for social exchange. In J. H. barkow, l. Cosmides, & J. Tooby, J. (Eds.), The adapted mind (pp. 163–228). new york, ny: oxford University Press.
darley, J. M., & batson, C. d. (1973). “from Jerusalem to Jericho”: A study of situ- ational and dispositional variables in helping behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 27, 100–108. doi:10.1037/h0034449
Eagly, A. H. (2009). The his and hers of prosocial behavior: An examination of the social psychology of gender. American Psychologist, 64, 644–658. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.64.8.644
Eisenberg, n., guthrie, I. K., Cumberland, A., Murphy, b. C., Shepard, S. A., Zhou, Q., & Carlo, g. (2002). Prosocial development in early adulthood: A
13351-13_CH12-2ndPgs.indd 257 7/8/13 4:40 PM
Co py
ri gh
t Am
er ic an
P sy ch ol
og ic al A ss oc ia ti on . No t fo r fu
rt he
r di
st ri
bu ti
on .
258 reysen and levine
longitudinal study. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 993–1006. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.82.6.993
fitzsimons, g. M., & bargh, J. A. (2003). Thinking of you: nonconscious pursuit of interpersonal goals associated with relationship partners. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 148–164. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.84.1.148
garcia, S. M., Weaver, K., darley, J. M., & Spence, b. T. (2009). dual effects of implicit bystanders: Inhibiting vs. facilitating helping behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 19, 215–224. doi:10.1016/j.jcps.2009.02.013
garcia, S. M., Weaver, K., Moskowitz, g. b., & darley, J. M. (2002). Crowded minds: The implicit bystander effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 843–853. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.83.4.843
guéguen, n., Jacob, C., & Charles-Sire, V. (2011). Helping with all your heart: The effect of cardioids cue on compliance to a request for humanitarian aid. Social Marketing Quarterly, 17, 2–11. doi:10.1080/15245004.2011.620683
Hamilton, W. d. (1964). The genetical evolution of social behavior, Parts I and II. Journal of Theoretical Biology, 7, 1–16. doi:10.1016/0022-5193(64)90038-4
Isen, A. M., & Simmonds, S. f. (1978). The effect of feeling good on a helping task that is incompatible with good mood. Social Psychology, 41, 346–349. doi:10.2307/3033588
Jenkins, S., Reysen, S., & Katzarska-Miller, I. (2012). Ingroup identification and per- sonality. Journal of Interpersonal Relations, Intergroup Relations and Identity, 5, 9–16.
Jost, J. T., burgess, d., & Mosso, C. o. (2001). Conflicts of legitimation among self, group and system: The integrative potential of system justification the- ory. In J. T. Jost & b. Major (Eds.), The psychology of legitimacy: Emerging perspectives on ideology, justice, and intergroup relations (pp. 363–388). new york, ny: Cambridge University Press.
Katzarska-Miller, I., Reysen, S., Kamble, S. V., & Vithoji, n. (2012). Cross-national differences in global citizenship: Comparison of bulgaria, India, and the United States. Journal of Globalization Studies, 3, 166–183.
Knafo, A., Schwartz, S. H., & levine, R. V. (2009). Helping strangers is lower in embedded cultures. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 40, 875–879. doi:10.1177/0022022109339211
latané, b., & darley, J. M. (1970). The unresponsive bystander: Why doesn’t he help? new york, ny: Appleton-Century-Crofts.
levine, M., Prosser, A., Evans, d., & Reicher, S. (2005). Identity and emergency inter- vention: How social group membership and inclusiveness of group boundaries shape helping behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 443–453. doi:10.1177/0146167204271651
levine, R. (2003). The kindness of strangers. American Scientist, 91, 226 –233. doi:10.1511/2003.3.226
levine, R. V., lynch, K., Miyake, K., & lucia, M. (1989). The type A city: Coronary heart disease and the pace of life. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 12, 509–524. doi:10.1007/bf00844822
13351-13_CH12-2ndPgs.indd 258 7/8/13 4:40 PM
Co py
ri gh
t Am
er ic an
P sy ch ol
og ic al A ss oc ia ti on . No t fo r fu
rt he
r di
st ri
bu ti
on .
people, culture, and place 259
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. doi:10.1037/0022- 3514.67.1.69
levine, R. V., & norenzayan, A. (1999). The pace of life in 31 countries. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 30, 178–205. doi:10.1177/0022022199030002003
levine, R. V., norenzayan, A., & Philbrick, K. (2001). Cross-cultural differ- ences in helping strangers. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 32, 543–560. doi:10.1177/0022022101032005002
levine, R. V., Reysen, S., & ganz, E. (2008). The kindness of strangers revisited: A comparison of 24 US cities. Social Indicators Research, 85, 461–481. doi:10.1007/ s11205-007-9091-9
lewin, K. (1946). behavior and development as a function of the total situation. In l. Carmichael (Ed.), Manual of child psychology (pp. 791–844). new york, ny: Wiley. doi:10.1037/10756-016
Macrae, C. n., & Johnston, l. (1998). Help, I need somebody: Automatic action and inaction. Social Cognition, 16, 400–417. doi:10.1521/soco.1998.16.4.400
Markus, H. R., & lin, l. R. (1999). Conflictways: Cultural diversity in the mean- ings and practices of conflict. In d. A. Prentice & d. R. Miller (Eds.), Cultural divides: Understanding and overcoming group conflict (pp. 302–333). new york, ny: Russell Sage foundation.
nelson, l. d., & norton, M. I. (2005). from student to superhero: Situational primes shape future helping. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 41, 423–430. doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2004.08.003
new york State board of Elections. (2005, April 1). County enrollment totals. Retrieved from http://www.elections.ny.gov/nySboE/enrollment/county/ county_apr05.pdf
oishi, S., & graham, J. (2010). Social ecology: lost and found in psychologi- cal science. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 5, 356–377. doi:10.1177/ 1745691610374588
over, H., & Carpenter, M. (2009). Eighteen-month-old infants show increased helping following priming with affiliation. Psychological Science, 20, 1189– 1193. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2009.02419.x
oxfam. (1997). A curriculum for global citizenship. oxford, England: Author.
Postmes, T., baray, g., Haslam, S. A., Morton, T. A., & Swaab, R. I. (2006). The dynamics of personal and social identity formation. In T. Postmes & J. Jetten (Eds.), Individuality and the group: Advances in social identity (pp. 215–236). lon- don, England: Sage. doi:10.4135/9781446211946.n12
Reicher, S., Spears, R., & Haslam, S. A. (2010). The social identity approach in social psychology. In M. S. Wetherell & C. T. Mohanty (Eds.), Sage identities handbook (pp. 45–62). london, England: Sage. doi:10.4135/9781446200889.n4
Reysen, S., & branscombe, n. R. (2008). belief in collective emotions as conforming to the group. Social Influence, 3, 171–188. doi:10.1080/15534510802247438
13351-13_CH12-2ndPgs.indd 259 7/8/13 4:40 PM
Co py
ri gh
t Am
er ic an
P sy ch ol
og ic al A ss oc ia ti on . No t fo r fu
rt he
r di
st ri
bu ti
on .
260 reysen and levine
Reysen, S., & ganz, E. (2006). gender differences in helping in six U.S. cities. North American Journal of Psychology, 8, 63–67.
Reysen, S., & Katzarska-Miller, I. (2012). A model of global citizenship: Ante- cedents and outcomes. International Journal of Psychology. doi:10.1080/ 00207594.2012.701749
Reysen, S., levine, R. V., & ganz, E. (2005). The association between the display of group membership and helping behavior. Unpublished manuscript, department of Psychology, California State University, fresno.
Saucier, d. A., Miller, C. T., & doucet, n. (2005). differences in helping whites and blacks: A meta-analysis. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 9, 2–16. doi:10.1207/s15327957pspr0901_1
Schwartz, S. H. (1992). Universals in the content and structure of values: Theoreti- cal advances and empirical tests in 20 countries. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 25, 1–65. doi:10.1016/S0065-2601(08)60281-6
Shweder, R. A. (1990). Cultural Psychology—What is it? In J. Stigler, R. Shweder, & g. Herdt (Eds.), Cultural psychology: Essays on comparative human development (pp. 1–44). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. doi:10.1017/ Cbo9781139173728.002
Strauss, A. l. (1976). Images of the American city. new brunswick, nJ: Transaction books.
Tajfel, H., & Turner, J. C. (1979). An integrative theory of intergroup conflict. In W. Austin & S. Worchel (Eds.), The social psychology of intergroup relations (pp. 33–47). Monterey, CA: brooks/Cole.
Triandis, H. (1996). The psychological measurement of cultural syndromes. American Psychologist, 51, 407–415. doi:10.1037/0003-066X.51.4.407
Trivers, R. (1985). Social evolution. Menlo Park, CA: benjamin Cummings. Turner, J. C., Hogg, M. A., oakes, P. J., Reicher, S. d., & Wetherell, M. (1987).
Rediscovering the social group: A self-categorization theory. oxford, England: blackwell.
United nations, department of Economic and Social development. (1996). Demographic yearbook 1994. new york, ny: Author.
United Way of America. (1991). International directory 1991. Alexandria, VA: Author. van baaren, R. b., Holland, R. W., Kawakami, K., & van Knippenberg, A. (2004).
Mimicry and prosocial behavior. Psychological Science, 15, 71–74. doi:10.1111/ j.0963-7214.2004.01501012.x
Van lange, P. A. M., otten, W., de bruin, E. M. n., & Joireman, J. A. (1997). devel- opment of prosocial, individualistic, and competitive orientations: Theory and preliminary evidence. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 733–746. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.73.4.733
World bank. (1996). The world bank atlas: 1996. Washington, dC: Author. Zemack-Rugar, y., bettman, J. R., & fitzsimons, g. J. (2007). The effects of non-
consciously priming emotion concepts on behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93, 927–939. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.93.6.927
13351-13_CH12-2ndPgs.indd 260 7/8/13 4:40 PM
Co py
ri gh
t Am
er ic an
P sy ch ol
og ic al A ss oc ia ti on . No t fo r fu
rt he
r di
st ri
bu ti
on .
