Urbanization,Culture,and Helpfulness

Abstract

Social contact, help exchange, and attitudes toward helpfulness were examined in both urban and small town settings in England and the Sudan using self-report measures. Much of the cultural analysis of the "urban unhelpfulness" effect, that is, lower levels of helpfulness in urban settings, suggests that this effect is dependent on cultural and community factors. In particular, it is possible that Islamic norms stressing a communal orientation, predominant in the Sudan, would greatly mitigate the urban unhelpfulness effect. The results did not support this: The effect was quite equivalent in both countries, supporting the effect's apparent universality. In addition, a dispositional explanation was not supported in light of the poor correspondence between the behavioral and attitudinal data.