Sex, Group Size and Helping in Three Cities

One hundred forty-five experimenters accidentally dropped a handful of pencils or coins on 1,497 occasions before a total of 4,813 bystanders in elevators in Columbus, Ohio; Seattle, Washington; and Atlanta, Georgia. In picking up the objects, females received more help than did males, males gave more help than did females, and these differences were greatly exaggerated in Atlanta. Both males and females were less likely to help as the number of people present increased, and the data were well fit by a mathematical model of diffusion of responsibility. There was also a slight but significant tendency for subjects to imitate each other, as shown by an overrepresentation of cases where no one or almost everyone helped. Among the many characteristics which differentiate one person from another, surely one of the most important is sex From earliest childhood each of us is made aware of our own sex and the sex of those around us. Almost as soon as they are able to talk, most children can differentiate girls from boys, and they soon start learning the ways they should act with each. Boys learn not only that they should hit balls with sticks, but that they should not hit girls with them. Girls are taught to cry and run to someone when they need help; boys are taught to help girls who cry. Sex roles are taught by parents, nursery stories, and first grade readers. Little girls are different from little boys. These teachings do not stop with childhood: big girls are different from big boys, too. Anyone who watches movies or television, or reads popular fiction,