The Effects of Temptation and Information about a Stranger on Helping

Abstract

In previous research on helping the responses of subjects who received no information about a stranger's opinions and who received information confirming the other's similarity, expressed equally positive sentiment toward the stranger and helped equally often (and more than a third group who expressed negative sentiment after learning that the stranger held dis similar opinions). The present study, stimttlated by this anomaly, found that although the two groups expressed equally positive sentiment toward the other, they helped equally as often only when there was little temptation to do otherwise. With greater temptation the difference in the frequency of helping was comparatively large. This was interpreted as suggesting that information about another can both create and destroy promotive social bonds.