Exploring the Bystander Effect in Value of Stolen Possessions

Authors

Nydia Ramos, University of the Pacific
Rubi Carrillo, University of the Pacific
Alexa Zaharris, University of the Pacific
Jorge Montanez, University of the Pacific
Itzel Flores, University of the Pacific

Poster Number

15

Lead Author Major

Psychology

Second Author Major

Psychology

Format

Poster Presentation

Faculty Mentor Name

Gary Howells

Faculty Mentor Department

Psychology

Abstract/Artist Statement

The current current experiment will be based off of the study by Thomas Moriarty (1975) where results showed that bystanders were more apt to stop a thief if the confederate had asked them to watch their possession in advance versus not asking them at all. The current experiment will attempt to do a similar study, and to further explore this concept, will add two conditions in which the value of the possession that will be stolen is either low (school text book) or high (laptop computer). We will be observing 40 participants from a small private university in Northern California. In order to leave out any extraneous variables, there will be an equal number of female and male participants for each of the four different scenarios. The hypotheses are that those who are asked by the victim confederate to watch the possessions will be more likely to intervene when the thief confederate attempts steal the possessions; and that participants would be more likely to intervene if it is a high value possession that is stolen.

Location

Tiger Lounge

Start Date

21-4-2012 10:00 AM

End Date

21-4-2012 12:00 PM