The Development of the Altruist Attitude: Testing and Evaluation of a Program Centered on Helping Behavior

Abstract

The numerous experiments that have dealt with helping behavior in a critical situation since the first research by Latane and Darley [21] were carried out essentially on adults. These studies, generally done in the laboratory, at least allowed the identification of certain variables that favor the reaction of evasion or abstention. These are, for example, the presence of witnesses, or the ambiguity of the situation. In the latter case, the subject tends to observe the other persons present. If they do not intervene, the situation appears less serious, less grave than when the individual must confront it alone. We have then the non-perception of the critical character of the incident, caused by the passivity of others; the authors cited have called this non-perception pluralistic ignorance.