Need a hand? Just ask. People are much more likely to oblige those who ask for small favors than they are to ignore or reject them, according to a recent study published in Scientific Reports.
The study was conducted in California, Australia, Ecuador, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Researchers observed video recordings of everyday life in several different countries and found that when people signal for help, regardless of culture, they are often given it.
In fact, people complied with small requests almost 80% of the time. This is seven times more often than they declined, and six times more often than they ignored them.
The study focused on ‘mundane’ interactions
Researchers analyzed more than 40 hours of video recordings which involved about 350 participants.
The study focused on “mundane prosocial interactions,” like passing someone a kitchen utensil or flicking a light switch on, the authors wrote. In each interaction the person either asked for assistance or was visibly struggling. These sorts of low-stakes calls for help were disproportionately honored, regardless of what country the people lived in.
Overall, the average rate of rejection was 10% and the average rate of being ignored was 11%.
Additionally, people were just as likely to help someone who was a family member as they were to help someone who wasn’t a family member, the study found. When someone did deny another help, 74% offered a reason.
The study authors believe this shows that across cultures, people don’t mind asking for help, and they also don’t mind giving it.
“While cultural variation comes into play for special occasions and high-cost exchange, when we zoom in on the micro level of social interaction, cultural difference mostly goes away, and our species’ tendency to give help when needed becomes universally visible,” Giovanni Rossi, one author of the study and an assistant professor of sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles, told ScienceDaily.com.
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