To help or not to help: Capturing individuals' decision policies

Main Article Content

Barbara A. Fritzsche
Marcia A. Finkelstein
Louis A. Penner
Cite this article:  Fritzsche, B., Finkelstein, M., & Penner, L. (2000). To help or not to help: Capturing individuals' decision policies. Social Behavior and Personality: An international journal, 28(6), 561-578.


Abstract
Full Text
References
Tables and Figures
Acknowledgments
Author Contact

The arousal:cost-reward model of bystander intervention developed by Piliavin, Dovidio, Gaertner, and Clark in 1981 was tested using a within-subjects “policy capturing” methodology. Four hundred and forty nine participants read 50 scenarios and reported the likelihood they would offer help. Seventy-six percent of the par-ticipants’ helping judgments could be reliably described or “captured” with a linear combination of the various costs of helping and costs of not helping specified in the model.  In addition, participants were relatively aware of how the costs affected their helping decisions; although female participants may have been more aware than males. These findings provide additional support for the arousal:cost-reward model and extend understanding of the cognitive algebra that occurs before individuals decide to intervene.

Please login and/or purchase the PDF to view the full article.
Please login and/or purchase the PDF to view the full article.
Please login and/or purchase the PDF to view the full article.
Please login and/or purchase the PDF to view the full article.
Please login and/or purchase the PDF to view the full article.

Article Details

© 2000 Scientific Journal Publishers Limited. All Rights Reserved.