Cultural Differences in Pro-social Behaviour

Identifying cultural differences

National differences Whiting and Whiting (1975) measured altruism in six countries and found 100% of Kenyan children behaved altruistically compared with 8% of American children. The others (India, Japan, Philippines, Mexico) were in between the two extremes.

Gender differences

Eagly and Crowley (1986) concluded from past research that men are more likely to help when the situation involves some danger, or when there is an audience.

Individualist versus collectivist societies 

Nadler (1986) found that children raised on kibbutzim (collectivist society) were more likely to seek help on an anagram task than those raised in Israeli cities (individualist society).

Explaining cultural differences

Social norms and social learning

In different cultural settings, we learn different social norms for behaviour. People are more helpful in rural locations. Korte and Kerr (1975) found that 70% of the stamped postcards dropped in small towns around Boston were posted as compared with 61% of those dropped in Boston itself. We model our own behaviour on others. See Bryan and Test (1967, above).

Childrearing practices

Children learn pro-social behaviour through parents and the media. For example, Rosenhan (1970) showed that helpfulness is learned from parents. Those who had warm relations with parents who were concerned about moral issues and the parents acted on this were more likely to behave altruistically.

It is important to distinguish between a culture and a nation. Many studies of a culture are actually studies of a national group.