Actually, this question was prompted by a student who had the same "only in
selfish, self-centered America" reaction to my discussion of the topic. My
initial reaction was that while some cultures may have an overall higher
level of helping, that the effect would probably be found across cultures.
Part of my reasoning has already been addressed very nicely by Helen Harton.
In addition, I was familiar with cross-cultural research on other factors
that influence altruistic behavior (e.g., degree of relationship to the
person who needs help, legitimacy of the person's need). I knew that in
those cases the basic finding replicated in different cultures, although the
overall level of helping may be higher or interact with the other variable.
On a less empirical basis, it didn't seem logical to me that allowing others
to be harmed through inaction would be so culture specific, when directly
harming others through action is universal. Finally, the parable of the
Good Samaritan involves a similar type of inaction. I didn't see how that
parable could have resonated for so many centuries before the advent of
Modern American Culture if the phenomenon it describes is limited to our
culture.
While I did make these points to the student, I was really hoping to be able
to tell her about research from other countries that was directly relevant.
Our conversation had also touched on the dominance of U.S. research in
psychology in general. I'd hoped that some of you would be aware of
research on the topic off hand. I'd like to thank Paul Smith for going the
extra mile and doing the PsycInfo search.
Thank you for all of your input. I'm sure it will help inform the
discussion when I finish the topic in class on Wednesday.
Ann Calhoun-Sauls
Belmont Abbey College
-----Original Message-----
From: Michael Sylvester
To: TIPS
Sent: 4/23/01 2:33 PM
Subject: Re: bystander effect and cross-cultural research
On Mon, 23 Apr 2001, Ann Calhoun-Sauls wrote:
>
> Do any of you have any information on bystander effect research
conducted
> outside of the U.S.? I've checked two Social Psychology texts that
have a
> cultural emphasis (Smith & Bond and Moghaddam) and two cultural
psychology
> texts (Cole and Triandis) without any luck.
>
> Or - do any of you know of any Kitty Genovese-like incidents that have
> occurred in other countries?
It may not exist in other cultures.The bystander effect may be
unique in the U.S -a society influenced by individualism and a growing
lack of connecting with other people and an ambivalence about values.
The so called Fundamental attribution error can only be observed
in a society like the U.S which places emphasis on dispositional
attributions .
Michael Sylvester,PhD
Daytona Beach,Florida
