Competence and volunteering

Abstract Two experiments were designed to determine the effect of competence upon aiding behavior. It was hypothesized that competence, particularly that relevant to the aiding response, would increase the subjects' willingness to volunteer help. Competence was manipulated by indicating to the subjects that they were either physically fit (task-relevant response) or possessed creative ability (task-irrelevant). The dependent variable was the subject's volunteering to donate blood. Results in both studies supported the hypothesis that competence increases volunteering behavior although task relevance had no effect.

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