Ability Of Helper Research Articles

“How can you help me if you are not from here?” Helper's familiarity with the context shapes interpretations of prosocial intergroup behaviors

The present research examined people's (mis)interpretations of prosocial intergroup behaviors by investigating whether a helper's familiarity with the context influences the empathy and altruistic (vs. instrumental) motives recipients of help attribute to helpers. In four experiments we recruited participants from different cultural backgrounds (Kosovan Albanians and Swiss) and different age groups (adolescents and adults), and considered two different perspectives: participants either imagined themselves in a predicament (i.e., a mental stimulation) or learned about a fellow ingroup member in the same predicament (i.e., a real situation). In all experiments, we manipulated both helper categorization (ingroup vs. outgroup) and familiarity with the context (i.e., whether the situation happened in an ingroup vs. outgroup context). Results showed that participants attributed less empathy and less altruistic (vs. instrumental) motives to the helper and were less willing to accept help in the outgroup helper condition than in the ingroup helper condition. However, this pattern occurred mostly within ingroup contexts. Finally, perceptions of a helper's ability to provide a solution mediated the observed effects on the main dependent variables. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings for intergroup relations.

Altered antibody production and helper T cell function in mice lacking chemokines CCL19 and CCL21-Ser

The roles of chemokines CCL19 and CCL21 in Ab production were investigated using plt mutant mice, which lack expression of CCL19 and CCL21-ser in their lymphoid organs. In these mice, the Th response has been shown to tend towards the Th1 type because of accumulation of inflammatory dendritic cells. When plt mice were immunized with 100 μg OVA in CFA, the number of Ab-forming cells in the draining LN, and serum concentrations of OVA-specific IgM and IgG Ab, were very close to those of the control, yet IgG2a Ab in plt mice was increased. In vitro IFN-γ production by the draining LN cells of plt mice was increased. In addition, the ability of helper T cells from plt mice to stimulate Ab production in vitro was prolonged. Also, in the plt mice, in vivo challenge with OVA in incomplete Freund's adjuvant elicited a stronger IgG2a response and a weaker IgG1 response, which is suggestive of a Th1-dominant response. Similar findings were obtained when mice were immunized with 100 μg OVA in alum, except that with alum the increases observed in plt mice were IgG1 produced in vivo and IL-4 produced in vitro by draining LN cells. Furthermore, immunization with alum adjuvant also induced a prolonged in vitro recall response of IFN-γ and IL-4. These findings indicate that plt mice mount an anti-OVA Ab response, and suggest that CCL19 and CCL21 induce prompt Ab responses to antigen, and negatively regulate helper T cell responses in vivo.

The Shaman Effect in Counseling Clients with Alcohol Problems

This article describes the use of ritual, metaphor, and other mythic devices to facilitate change in alcohol abusing clients. It is argued that the ultimate success of alcohol abuse counseling rests with the helper's ability to form an alliance with the client, an alliance similar in kind to the relationship that evolves between shamans and members of nomadic hunting and gathering societies. To this end, a shaman effect capable of aiding the assisted change process with alcohol abusing clients is defined and specific suggestions for its creation outlined.

Peer support for women with breast cancer: the role of empathy and self-disclosure

This study examined how women with breast cancer perceived different styles of peer helping. Forty recently diagnosed breast cancer patients evaluated three audiotaped conversations between a breast cancer patient and an (ex-patient) volunteer helper; the conversations differed in terms of the empathy and self-disclosure offered by the helper. The findings supported the first hypothesis, that a helping style involving high self-disclosure would be positively evaluated only in the presence of high empathy. However, the findings did not support the second hypothesis, that in conversations where high empathy is present, a helping style involving high self-disclosure would be evaluated more positively than one involving low self-disclosure. Qualitative data suggested that the helper's ability to listen to the patient and the helper's appropriate sharing of her own experience of breast cancer were both perceived as important components of effective helping. Implications for the training and practice of volunteer helpers are discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Helper factors for hapten-self cytotoxic T cells occur in NZB culture supernatants despite deficient AMLR

The ability of helper T cells from NZB mice to produce non-interleukin 2 (IL-2) lymphokines in the autologous mixed lymphocyte reaction (AMLR) was examined. Factors present in normal AMLR culture have been previously reported to mediate the development of a cytotoxic T-cell response to trinitrophenyl (TNP)-modified syngeneic thymocytes. Young NZB mice, like the normal strains, were able to produce the helper factors in the AMLR and to utilize these mediators in the cytotoxic induction system. Old autoimmune NZB mice demonstrated a poor proliferative response in the AMLR and were unable to activate hapten-specific cytotoxic cells in the presence of AMLR culture supernatant from either young or old mice. This was not due to a lack of cytotoxic precursors, nor was it a normal consequence of aging, but may be related to decreased IL-2 production by helper T cells. Interestingly, supernatant from AMLR proliferation deficient old NZB mice contained normal amounts of the AMLR helper factor. These data suggest that AMLR helper factor production is not directly related to the proliferative response and that two different helper-T-cell subpopulations may be responsible for these activities. The production of these mediators in mice which cannot utilize them raise questions about their role in autoimmunity.