It was found that under high noise, subjects' experiences of success or failure on an intellectual task had no effect on their subsequent helping behavior. However, under low noise, successful subjects were willing to devote more than twice the amount of their time to help the confederate than were tailing subjects. These findings are discussed in terms of misattribution of arousal.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
Aderman, D.Elation, depression and helping behavior . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1972, 24, 91-101.
2.
Aderman, D. , & Berkowitz, L.Observational set, empathy, and helping. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1970, 14, 141-148.
3.
Berkowitz, L. , & Connor, W. H.Success, failure and social responsibility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1966, 4, 664-669.
4.
Cialdini, R. B. , Darby, B. L., & Vincent, J. E.Transgression and altruism: A case for hedonism. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1973, 9, 502-516.
5.
Cohen, S.Environmental load and the allocation of attention. In A. Baum, J. E. Singer, & S. Valins (Eds.), Advances in environmental research. Hillsdale, N.J.: Erlbaum, 1978.
6.
Cohen, S. , & Lezak, A.Noise and attentiveness to social cues. Environment and Behavior, 1977, 9, 559-572.
7.
Glass, D. C. , & Singer, J, E.Urban stress: Experiments on noise and social stressors. New York: Academic, 1972.
8.
Harris, M. B. , & Huang, L. C.Helping and the attribution process. Journal of Social Psychology, 1973, 90, 291-297.
9.
Isen, A. M.Success, failure, attention, and reactions to others: The warm glow of success . Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1970, 15, 294-301.
10.
Isen, A. M. , Horn, N., & Rosenhan, D. L.Effects of success and failure on children's generosity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1973, 27, 293-247.
11.
Mathews, K. E. , & Canon, L. K.Environmental noise level as a determinant of helping behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1975, 32, 571-577.
12.
Raven, J. C.Progressive matrices test. London: H. K. Lewis, 1958.
13.
Sherrod, D. R. , & Downs, R.Environmental determinants of altruism: The effects of stimulus overload and perceived control on helping. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 1974, 10, 468-479.
14.
Winer, B. J.Statistical principles in experimental design. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1971.