Date of Award

6-2013

Document Type

Open Access

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

George Bizer

Language

English

Keywords

personality, bystander effect, self-esteem, behavior

Abstract

While there has been considerable research on the bystander effect, little is known about how personality moderates the process. The current study examines the ways in which prosocial behavior and self-esteem moderate the bystander effect. In this study, participants were asked about their self-esteem and prosocial tendencies using the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale and the Prosocial Tendencies Measure, respectively. While completing their work, participants were exposed to an emergency situation in which the researcher apparently fell ill. The participants’ responses to the emergency were recorded. Surprisingly, participants lower in prosocial behavior were more likely to help than participants higher in prosocial behavior. The findings in this study, while not in accordance with the hypotheses, lead to an opportunity for further testing. Furthermore, exploration of the negative state relief model might answer some questions about the surprising results.

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