Race, Cost, and Car-Status: Interacting Variables Using the Lost-Letter Technique

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Abstract
The tendency of subjects ( N = 400) at a suburban shopping mall to return letters found on their cars was studied, varying the implied race of the addressee (black or unspecified), the cost of helping (stamped or unstamped letter), and the car-status (low, medium, or high) of the subject. For subjects having low-status cars, black addressees received more help than unspecified addressees when the letter was stamped but less help when the letter was unstamped, suggesting response amplification toward blacks. For subjects with cars of medium, and high status, the tendency to return letters was unaffected by the race manipulation and higher over-all than the subjects with cars of low status.

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