This morning's newspaper link.
Apr. 24th, 2010 08:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mrsbrownI can be reasonably goal focussed (I just need a goal!). When I decide I want to do something, that's what I want to do and I don't want to be interrupted. Kids don't allow you to do that all the time and sometimes you just have to put down the book, turn off the stove or stop sewing. Your kids need food, or sleep, or attention and ultimately, you'll get more done if you stop and spend 10 minutes giving them what they need. Otherwise, they'll just hang off your arm and slow the whole process down and stress you out. That lesson took some learning!!
I was reminded of this learning this morning while reading a newspaper article which quoted a study on altruism that found that people were most likely to stop and help someone in need if they weren't in a hurry.
Peter Singer, in examining the reasons behind altruistic behaviour, often cites an experiment from Princeton University in which a group of theology students of different religious and moral beliefs were asked to give a lecture in an adjacent building. Half the students were assigned to talk about the good Samaritan parable, half were given a different topic. Some of the students were told that they were running late, some were told that they had just enough time to make it to the nearby building, and some were told that they had plenty of time.
I was reminded of this learning this morning while reading a newspaper article which quoted a study on altruism that found that people were most likely to stop and help someone in need if they weren't in a hurry.
Peter Singer, in examining the reasons behind altruistic behaviour, often cites an experiment from Princeton University in which a group of theology students of different religious and moral beliefs were asked to give a lecture in an adjacent building. Half the students were assigned to talk about the good Samaritan parable, half were given a different topic. Some of the students were told that they were running late, some were told that they had just enough time to make it to the nearby building, and some were told that they had plenty of time.
On their way out, the students encountered a ''victim'' on the ground, clearly in need of help. The researchers observed that the key determinant of whether students stopped to assist the person in distress was not linked to their religious or moral beliefs, but rather their sense of being in a hurry. Students who felt pressed for time more often left the victim unaided, while those with time to spare were more likely to stop and help.
I wonder what the results would be if they compared parents and non-parents, particularly mothers. I wonder if the age of the person in need would change the results?
