Noise and Helping Behavior

Three experiments were conducted in natural settings to examine the effects of noise on helping behavior. Individuals who were briefly exposed to high intensity construction noise were found to be less likely to help another person than were those exposed to noise of a considerably lower intensity. In addition, high noise levels interfered more with verbal help than with physical help, and had a greater effect on the helping behavior of females than on that of males.

[1]  R. Lazarus.  Psychological stress and the coping process , 1970 .

[2]  Bill Underwood,et al.  Affect and Altruism. , 1973 .

[3]  B. J. Winer.  Statistical Principles in Experimental Design , 1992 .

[4]  R. Geen,et al.  Activation of cue-elicited aggression by general arousal. , 1969, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[5]  D. Sherrod,et al.  Environmental determinants of altruism: The effects of stimulus overload and perceived control on helping. , 1974 .

[6]  R. Page,et al.  Reinforcement and Helping Behavior1 , 1972 .

[7]  S. Milgram.  The experience of living in cities. , 1970, Science.

[8]  W S SMITH,et al.  PUBLIC REACTION TO AIR POLLUTION IN NASHVILLE, TENNESSE. , 1964, Journal of the Air Pollution Control Association.

[9]  A. Isen,et al.  Effect of feeling good on helping: cookies and kindness. , 1972, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[10]  J. D. Miller.  Effects of noise on people. , 1974, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[11]  B. Latané,et al.  The Unresponsive Bystander: Why Doesn't He Help? , 1972 .

[12]  J. Baxter,et al.  Anxiety arousing effects of inappropriate crowding. , 1970, Journal of consulting and clinical psychology.

[13]  J. Russell,et al.  An approach to environmental psychology , 1974 .

[14]  J. Crandall,et al.  Effects of noise and intolerance of ambiguity upon attraction for similar and dissimilar others. , 1972, Journal of Social Psychology.

[15]  Robert Sommer,et al.  Personal space : the behavioral basis of design , 1970 .

[16]  P. Suedfeld,et al.  Human responses to highway noise. , 1973, Environmental research.