Situational and Personality Variables on Helping Behaviour - Essay Example

?The study sought to examine different situational and personality variables on helping behaviour and it mainly drew from the example of the Parable of the Good Samaritan in the bible. The study is quantitative in nature and it utilised the method of questionnaire to collect data from a sample of 67 students at Princeton Theological Seminary. It sought to address three hypotheses namely: 1. People who come across situations that require their help are less likely to assist when they are thinking ethical and religious issues. 2. People in a hurry are less likely to help those in distress. 3. People who are like the Good Samaritan are likely to offer help than those who belief in the religion of the priest and the Levite. These hypotheses impact on the behaviour of people in many ways. Some people are compelled to help others as a result of the factors mentioned above. These hypotheses sought to test the relationship between the independent variables and the dependent variable which is helping behaviour. People behave in a certain way as a result of the circumstances surrounding them at a particular period. The study sought to test situational and personality variables to establish their impact on the helping behaviour of different people when they come across a person in distress. In this study, the helping behaviour is the dependent variable since it is subject to change as a result of changes in the independent variables. The independent variables in the study are situational and personality. The two situational variables in this study include the message and hurry. The message about the parable of the Good Samaritan is an independent variable since it can be changed depending on the way it is interpreted by the individual. There are different connotations that are often assigned to this particular message and these vary from place to place. As such, this situation affects the behaviour of the people involved. The other independent situational variable is hurry. If people are in a hurry, they are likely to act in a certain way. However, people who are in less hurry are likely to act in a different way compared to those who are in a hurry. This variable can change from time to time or place to place depending on the occasion. The change in this variable also affects the dependent variable which is helping behaviour. The other independent variable is related to personality of the people involved in the study. More often than not, individuals have varying personalities and these are subject to change depending on the situation. For instance, the personality of the participants was measured on the basis of religion where religion was considered as a quest, means as well as end. In some instances, the element of religion has a bearing on the way people behave in different circumstances. Some people strongly believe in their religion such that their behaviour is shaped by this stance. However, this variable has been observed to be of little importance in the study since it did not impact on the behaviour of people in a big way. All the same, this is an independent variable since it can change at any time. Darley & Batson (1973, p. 45) state that “each subject was paid $1 for the questionnaire session and $1.50 for the experimental session.” The use of money to pay the subjects when carrying an academic research is unethical. This amounts to bribery and it shows that the researcher would be bent on manipulating the results to suit his or her needs. This compromises the quality of the study and the results are likely to be biased. As such, it can be said that this study was not ethical as a result of the way data was collected. Participants in the study should not be given incentives but the researcher only need to seek their consent before involving in the study. Participating in a research study is often seen as a voluntary exercise such those willing can participate for free but those who are occupied and unwilling can indicate that they are not able to take part. The researcher only needs to send a letter of consent to the participants and nothing else. The other interesting thing about the study is that it delves on an ethical subject but it has been conducted in an unethical fashion. What an iron? To psychologists who are keen to reflect on this parable, it reflects personality and situational variables, the non helping priest and the Levite and the helpful Samaritan. In this study, the personality measure was religiosity. However, even if the aspect of religion is removed, it can be seen that people are inclined to help those in distress since this is an ethical practice in their lives. The element of religion may play a little role in shaping the behaviour of an individual which can be shaped by his or her personality. Individuals are entitled to their own thoughts and opinions which may have nothing to do with their religion since it is believed that all humans are supposed to act in an ethical way when the situation requires them to do so. The study contributes to the science of social psychology and to the society at large in many ways. The results of the study indicate that people in a hurry are less likely to help people in emergency situations. On the other hand, it has been observed that people who are not in a hurry are likely to offer help to the victims. The study supports hypothesis two which states that the degree to which a person is in a hurry mainly determines his or her helping behaviour. It has been observed that a person hurrying to preach about the parable of the Good Samaritan can move hurriedly past another person in distress. This is quite ironic in that people choose to preach parables rather than transforming these parables into action. Being a religious person, it would be prudent for the person to stop and help the person in distress rather than ignore him. However, one interesting thing about the study is that it has been observed that personality has little to do with helping behaviour of another person in distress. What was evident in the study is the fact that time and mobility of an individual have a bearing on their response if they come across a person in distress. In most cases, when a person is moving, he or she is preoccupied with the thoughts of the events ahead. In some cases, a person in a hurry can subconsciously pass another person in distress without notice. This is because of the fact that the mind of a person often follows the speed with which an individual is moving or thinking. Therefore, it may not always follow that people moving fast are not interested in helping others. Apart from the findings of the study, it can be seen that the results are somehow biased. The subjects drawn from the seminary have the same disposition towards Christianity and they are likely to respond in a similar fashion to the variable of message. This study could have been authentic if the subjects were drawn from people randomly picked from different institutions rather than focus on individuals studying theology. Obviously, they have knowledge about the parable of the Good Samaritan. The study was likely to be more authentic if people belonging to different religions were randomly selected to see how they would respond to a situation involving a person in distress. The other question that the psychologists may want to ask is why people who think that they are more religious than the others are the ones who do not want to help. In real life situations, it can be seen that preachers often act the negative way which is different from the gospel they preach to others. People who tend to think that they are too religious often do not want to associate with those people with different views from theirs. Instead of accommodating the people with different views, people who see themselves as holly often shun act in a negative way. In order to answer this question, the psychologists need to carry out a research that is specifically related to religiosity and how personality and situational variables affect the behaviour of people with regards to helping others in distress. More research ought to be carried including varied subjects rather than selecting people from a theological institution. References Darley, J.M. & Batson C.D. (1973).“From Jerusalem to Jericho”: A study of situational and dispositional variables in helping behaviour. The Journal of Personality and social psychology. Volume 27, No, 1. Read More