Affiliation, community size, and person-positivity effect in return of lost letters.

Abstract

A study using 1,008 "lost letters" was designed to test the hypotheses that returned responses would be greater in smaller rural communities than from cities, that addresses' affiliation with a group opposed to physical education in schools would reduce the return rate, and that a person-positivity effect would influence return rates. Community Size and Person-Positivity conditions were not significantly associated with different rates of return even though returned letters from the smaller rural communities were more frequent than those from the cities across addressee conditions. Findings seem to suggest no community bias in the willingness of people to help a stranger in need by returning a lost letter. Person-Positivity conditions did not seem to improve the technique. Both addressee' affiliations alone and community size and addressee' affiliations were associated with significantly different rates of return in smaller rural communities, with rates of return greater in the smaller rural communities than in the cities (except for the addressee opposed to physical education in schools).