Poster 16

Altruism in Regards to Homelessness

Emme Abreu

The main goal of this research was to test the hypothesis that people are more or less likely to help homeless men in public based on what their sign says, as well as their physical appearance. Existing research on the general topic of altruism shows that those experiencing empathy are more likely to display helpful behaviors and attitudes, especially toward those they perceive to be dependent. Studies involving children even show that children tend to share what they have with those who present to be in need.On the other hand, research has also shown time and time again that the bystander effect almost always lies present, so if there are other people walking by who might help a homeless man, there is a smaller chance that the people themselves will do the same regardless of the man's appearance. This study utilized one of four versions of an 18-item survey randomly administered to 119 participants. Each version had a different picture of one of two homeless men holding up one of two different signs, with a 7-item demographics questionnaire that followed. Analyses of data showed that physical factors such as the man's age seem to not make a significant difference in the likelihood that someone will donate to or help a homeless man while walking by, χ2 (4, N = 119) = 2.76, p > 0.05. The same occurred for participants' likely actions when driving by the homeless man, χ2 (4, N = 119) = 3.16, p > 0.05. However, the data suggests that the participants' perceptions of other resources the man might have did impact their likelihood of helping.

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