Author Question: Several researchers have found that people are more likely to receive help in a rural environment ... (Read 110 times)

jenna1 · **on:** Jun 22, 2018

Several researchers have found that people are more likely to receive help in a rural environment than in an urban environment. Are urban dwellers simply more callous?

What will be an ideal response?

Question 2

It would seem reasonable to assume that people would be more likely to help others who are part of their in-groups than their out-groups. It is not quite as simple and straightforward as that, however. Explain.

What will be an ideal response?

af · **Reply #1 on:** Jun 22, 2018

Answer to Question 1

Answer: Perhaps rural dwellers are more likely to be socialized to be trusting and altruistic. A more likely explanation for these differences is that people who live in urban environments are more likely to be bombarded with stimulation, and thus tend to keep to themselves to prevent becoming overwhelmed by that stimulation; this is the substance of the urban-overload hypothesis (Milgram, 1970).

Answer to Question 2

Answer: An in-group is a group with which one identifies and of which one feels he or she is a member (e.g., friends, fellow students, members of one's own culture). An out-group is a group with which one does not identify (e.g., strangers, members of another culture). If the person in need of help is a member of one's in-group, researchers have established that the helping results from feelings of empathy. If the person in need of help is a member of one's out-group, the helping results from the rewards that are possible for helping. The good news is that people will help people in both their in- and out-groups, but will help for different reasons.