Victim Characteristics and Helping Behavior in a Rural Southern Setting

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Abstract
Drawing upon previous research conducted in urban areas, it is hypothesized that the race, sex, and community identification of a victim influence the likelihood that he will receive help from rural white Southerners when it is requested. Assumptions concerning differential racial prejudice and diffusion of responsibility are combined to generate the predictions that the overall rate of helping is higher in a rural than in an urban setting, but that black victims receive help less frequently from rural white Southerners than from urban white non-Southerners. Data from a field experiment conducted in the rural mountain region of western North Carolina reveal the predicted race difference, but sex and community identification variation is insignificant. When data from the present study are compared with results previously reported by Gaertner and Bickman (6) from a study in a similar fashion in New York City, the predicted difference in overall helping rates is observed. However, the proportion of blacks in the present study who received help is identical to the proportion receiving help in Gaertner and Bickman's sample.