Effect of Car Status on Helping Behavior in the Parking Lot

Abstract

The present study replicates a 1976 experiment by Clark, Matheron, and Matheron concerning the effect of car status on strangers' willingness to turn off a car's headlights. The study was carried out on the parking lot of a major shopping mall in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Status was manipulated using a 1986 BMW and a 1982 Mazda. Analysis indicated no significant differences between the cars for number of shoppers passing by before someone attempted to help. Another dependent measure, latency of helping, was also not significantly different, although in both cases the pattern of means was opposite that obtained by Clark, et al. No significant differences were found for estimated age or sex of helpers. Helpers were most often single or in pairs; groups of helpers were less frequent. The findings are related to research conducted in the 1970s on the effects of victim's status.