The Influence of Neighbours on Helping Behaviors of People

Abstract

Pro-social behavior is one of the very interesting topics in Social Psychology today. Helping others is a type of pro_social behavior. Social Psychologists who investigate on pro_social behaviors are highly concerned with factors that influence helping behaviors. In this research, the influence of neighbours on helping behaviors was investigated using natural observational method. This research was conducted with 20 volunteer participants and they were divided into two equal groups as first group and second group. The first group was asked to sit on front seats on the buses and advised to help beggars who beg on the buses while the second group was asked to sit on front seats and advised not to help beggars. The research was conducted at general bus stand of new town, Anuradhapura. It was clear that beggars earned more money from buses where the first group sat in the front seats when compared to the earnings from buses which the second group sat in the front seats. Therefore, it can be concluded that the neighbours influenced the helping behaviors of people Therefore, finally, this research concluded that neighbors influence on helping behaviors of people.