Help seeking as a cultural phenomenon: Differences between city and kibbutz dwellers.

Investigated how individuals living in Israeli kibbutzim and cities differ in their willingness to seek help. 110 kibbutz-resident and 56 city-resident high school students (aged 16–18 yrs) responded to pencil-and-paper measurements and actual behavioral experiments. Differences were hypothesized due to the cultural emphasis on individual versus communal achievement in city and kibbutz societies, respectively. Ss responded to a pencil-and-paper measure in which they were asked to indicate the likelihood of help seeking in several daily school situations. Ss then performed a task on which they could seek help. Analyses indicate that on pencil-and-paper measurements, kibbutz dwellers tended to have higher help-seeking scores than did city dwellers. On the behavioral measure, kibbutz dwellers sought more help to accomplish a group task, whereas city dwellers sought more help to accomplish a personal task. Need for achievement was correlated with help-seeking behavior for kibbutz dwellers on the group task and for city dwellers on the personal task. Implications for the help-seeking and achievement literatures are discussed. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empathy avoidance: Forestalling feeling for another in order to escape the motivational consequences.

Often people fail to respond to those in need. Why? In addition to cognitive and perceptual processes such as oversight and diffusion of responsibility, a motivational process may lead people, at times, to actively avoid feeling empathy for those in need, lest they be motivated to help them. It is predicted that empathy avoidance will occur when, before exposure to a person in need, people are aware that (1) they will be asked to help this person and (2) helping will be costly. To test this prediction, Ss were given the choice of hearing 1 of 2 versions of an appeal by a homeless man for help: an empathy-inducing version or a nonempathy-inducing version. As predicted, those aware that they soon would be given a high-cost opportunity to help the man chose to hear the empathy-inducing version less often than did those either unaware of the upcoming opportunity or aware but led to believe that helping involved low cost. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal response styles of children and adolescents in a counseling analog setting: Effects of age, sex, and labeling.

Boys and girls of 3 grade levels (5th–6th, 7th–8th, and 10th) responded in writing to videotaped, role-played problem vignettes as though they were in actual contact with the speakers. The videotaped stimuli were problem disclosures made by 5 males and 5 females, ages 7–15 yrs. Groups of respondents were led to believe that the target stimuli were either normal or troubled youngsters. The written responses were categorized using an age-appropriate framework of help-intended verbal modes. Compared to younger respondents, the oldest ones made more negative statements, more advisements in general, fewer advisements to seek help from a 3rd person, and fewer disclosures. Female Ss gave more advisements, particularly those aimed at solving problems verbally; female Ss also gave fewer interpretations than did male Ss. Female stimuli elicited fewer advisements in general, more advisements to change their own thoughts and feelings, and more interpretations than male stimuli. Compared to "normal"" stimuli, "troubled"" stimuli received fewer negatives, more advisements to seek third-person help, and more disclosures. Cultural sex role stereotypes and age-related changes in actual and self-perceived competence are discussed. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are shy people reluctant to ask for help?

Examined the help-seeking behaviors of shy and not-shy men and women. In Study 1, Ss worked on an impossible task in the presence of a male or female confederate whom they were told had just successfully completed the task. Shy Ss asked for help no less frequently than did not-shy Ss overall, but they did seek help less frequently from opposite-sex confederates than from same-sex confederates. In Study 2, shy and not-shy men and women were required to call a man and a woman and ask them to complete a questionnaire. All respondents agreed to return the questionnaire. However, when shy Ss (compared with not-shy Ss) called opposite-sex respondents, fewer of the questionnaires were actually returned. When making their calls, shy Ss sounded somewhat less warm and confident than did not-shy Ss, and they also spoke less fluently. Fluency, in turn, predicted response rate for the shy subjects calling respondents of the opposite sex. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Male role and gender role conflict: Relations to help seeking in men.

Tested theory that adherence to the traditional male gender role and help-seeking attitudes and behaviors are related. Ss were 401 undergraduate men who completed measures of help-seeking attitudes and behaviors, attitudes toward the stereotypic male role, and gender role conflict factors (i.e., success/power/competition, restrictive emotionality, and restrictive affectionate behavior between men). Canonical analysis and regression indicated that traditional attitudes about the male role, concern about expressing emotions, and concern about expressing affection toward other men were each significantly related to negative attitudes toward seeking professional psychological assistance. Restrictive emotionality also significantly predicted decreased past help-seeking behavior and decreased likelihood of future help seeking. The implications of these results for theory, research, and counseling practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Curiosity and control: On the determinants of the search for social knowledge.

Hypothesized that people will be particularly inclined to seek information about others when they have recently been deprived of control. 61 female undergraduates experienced either noncontrollable outcomes on a problem-solving task or had no such experience. Ss were then introduced to a 2nd unrelated study in which they expected to interview another individual. Some Ss were led to believe that acquiring information about the interviewee would have high utility; others were given no such expectation. The effects of these manipulations were assessed. Results confirm the hypothesis. There was also an independent tendency for Ss to seek highly diagnostic information when they believed that the information had high utility. The relationship between the motive to maintain control and the processes by which people formulate and sustain images of themselves and others is discussed. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does media violence increase children's toleration of real-life aggression?

Randomly divided 22 male and 22 female 3rd and 4th graders into groups for a 2 * 2 (Sex * Film/No Film) factorial design. Ss in the aggressive film group saw a cowboy film that depicted many violent events. All Ss were led to believe that they were responsible for watching the behavior of 2 younger children whom they could see on a videotape monitor. The younger children at first played quietly, then became progressively destructive. Their altercation culminated in a physical fight ending with the apparent destruction of the television camera. The dependent measures were (a) the time it took an S to seek adult help after the younger children began to be disruptive and (b) whether or not the S waited until the younger children had begun to abuse one another physically before seeking adult help. Results show that (a) Ss who saw an aggressive film took longer to seek adult help than Ss who did not see the film and (b) Ss in the film group were much more likely to tolerate all but violent physical aggression and destruction before seeking help. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Good looks may help: Effects of helper's physical attractiveness and sex of helper on males' and females' help-seeking behavior.

96 19–21 yr old Ss were asked to solve a detective story and were under the impression that correct solutions could be obtained only after a specified number of preliminary questions were answered correctly. Some of these questions were unanswerable, and Ss could ask another S for help. In line with past research (E. Bercheid and E. Walster, 1974; A. Nadler, see PA, Vol 66:5817; H. Sigall and E. Aronson, PA, Vol 43:8310; S. Stokes and L. Bickman, PA, Vol 54:3045), data indicate that for same-sex others, Ss tended to seek less help from physically attractive than unattractive helpers. In cases of cross-sex helping (a) males sought less help from a physically attractive female than an unattractive female and (b) females sought more help from a physically attractive than an unattractive male. Findings are discussed in terms of a self-presentation approach to interpersonal help-seeking behavior. A model of help-seeking and self-presentation is presented. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Role of Outcome Expectations and Attitudes on Decisions to Seek Professional Help.

Two studies examined the predictors of seeking psychological services. Study 1 examined the role of attitudes in mediating the relationship between 11 psychological factors and intent to seek help for 3 psychological problems. The results demonstrated that (a) the psychological factors and attitudes predicted 62% of the variance in intent to seek help for interpersonal problems and 18% of the variance for drug problems and (b) attitudes toward counseling mediated most of the relationships between the different psychological factors and help-seeking intent. Study 2, in turn, demonstrated that (a) anticipated outcomes of talking with a counselor were associated with the use of psychological services and (b) anticipated risks of disclosing emotions were salient for those having experienced a distressing event. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Help-seeking behavior of Native American Indian high school students.

A sample of 139 Zuni adolescents were surveyed to explore the relationships among their help-seeking behavior, psychological problems, and personal characteristics. No significant differences were found between the help-seeking behaviors of girls and boys. Students were most likely to seek help from a friend, parent, or relative for personal problems and to use professional help sources primarily for academic and career problems. Correlational analysis indicated that adolescents who experienced thoughts of suicide and global distress were more likely to seek help from a greater number of resources for their most serious problems. The implications of these findings for work with Native American Indian adolescents are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Person perception and the Type A coronary-prone behavior pattern.

Investigated the influence of the Type A behavior pattern on attribution processes using 48 male undergraduates. It was predicted that Type A Ss would be more motivated to succeed in the Prisoner's Dilemma game than would Type B's. Increased motivation to succeed was predicted to lead Type A's to exaggerate the amount of dispositional information they would believe they had inferred from observing the behavior of a future opponent, since such a belief would lead to increased confidence about predicting the target's behavior and thus increase Ss' perceived control over the outcome. Results support the predictions when the hard-driving competitiveness dimension of the Type A pattern was used as the individual difference variable. Moreover, evaluations of future opponents in the Prisoner's Dilemma game also differed as a function of the hard-driving competitive dimension. Results are discussed in terms of a person by situation interactive model of motivational influences on attribution processes and in terms of potential interpersonal effects of the cognitive behavior of Type A individuals. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of the change in self-stigma following a single session of group counseling.

One of the major obstacles to seeking psychological help is the stigma associated with counseling and therapy. Self-stigma, the fear of losing self-respect or self-esteem as a result of seeking help, is an important factor in the help-seeking process. In the present study, college students meeting a clinical cutoff for psychological symptoms participated in 1 session of group counseling that either contained therapist self-disclosure or did not. In general, participants reported significantly less self-stigma following the session. Working alliance–bond and session depth significantly predicted the change in self-stigma. Furthermore, self-stigma (as well as bond, depth, psychological symptoms, and being female) predicted the intention to seek help following the session. Self-stigma and session depth also predicted interest in continuing with counseling. The therapist self-disclosure condition, however, had no effect on the change in self-stigma, intentions to seek help, or interest in continuing with group counseling. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A controlled study of variables related to counseling center use.

Investigated the utility of several variables in discriminating between students who sought help at a university counseling center (seekers) and those who did not (nonseekers), when level of personal adjustment was controlled. Interactions between Ss' level of personal adjustment and help-seeking status were also examined. 40 female undergraduates who reported no previous history of formal counseling or psychotherapy were administered several tests including the College Maladjustment Scale. Three variables—alternate sources of help, counseling usefulness, and perceived severity of help-seeker pathology—significantly discriminated seeker from nonseeker Ss. It is suggested that level of Ss' adjustment is an important variable to control in research on the decision to seek help. Attitudinal variables were not powerful predictors of help-seeking behavior. Implications for the delivery of mental health services on the university campus are discussed. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Some clinical correlates of operant behavior.

"22 chronic psychotic patients, Ss in an operant conditioning study, were given psychological tests and rated as to their ward behavior. Ratings of ward behavior and rates of operant response were directly related. Those patients who were testable by at least one clinical test were those who were high operant responders. These findings were discussed in terms of a notion of adaptability to the demands of the hospital environment. Clinical and operant data on 6 normal Ss were also presented." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Misattribution of dissonance and behaviour-consistent attitude change.

Examined the prediction that people who have misattributed dissonance arousal to an external source may come to question the appropriateness of this attribution and may then be motivated to alter their attitudes. This was tested by having an experimenter discredit the plausibility of an external source after misattribution had presumably occurred. 80 female undergraduates participated in the study, with 16 of these Ss serving as controls. 64 Ss were given a pill described as having either unpleasant side effects or no side effects and then were committed to write counterattitudinal essays under high-choice conditions. Some Ss were then told that a mistake had been made and that they had actually been given the other form of the pill. As predicted, Ss who had initially been led to believe that the pill had aversive side effects but were later told that it did not manifested behavior-consistent attitude change. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cultural mistrust and mental health help-seeking attitudes among Filipino Americans.

As low as the rate of mental health help-seeking is among Asian Americans, Filipino Americans seek mental health services at a much lower rate even compared with other Asian Americans. Despite the field’s progress in identifying and understanding factors that may influence mental health help-seeking attitudes among Asian Americans, despite research on other minority groups suggesting that cultural mistrust may influence attitudes toward seeking professional psychological help, and despite the abundance of literature documenting the historical and contemporary experiences of oppression by Filipino Americans, the possibility that cultural mistrust may play a significant role in Filipino Americans’ mental health help-seeking attitudes have yet to be empirically investigated. Thus, using a sample of 118 Filipino Americans, the current study demonstrates that higher levels of cultural mistrust is related to lower likelihood of seeking professional psychological help. Furthermore, cultural mistrust predicted variance in mental health help-seeking attitudes that are not accounted for by income, generational status, loss of face, and adherence to Asian cultural values. Implications for future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

College students' help-seeking preferences.

136 undergraduates completed a questionnaire indicating the relative likelihood that they would turn to 7 potential helpgivers with 11 personal or 5 career problems. For personal problems, Ss indicated they would be more likely to turn to a close friend for help. For career problems, Ss stated that they would be more likely to seek help from an academic advisor, instructor, close friend, or close relative. A total of 36% and 26% of the Ss said they would seek help from a professional counselor for a personal or career problem, respectively. The extent to which these findings replicate previous research is discussed. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Facilitation of social interaction through deindividuation of the target.

Hypothesized that actors want their perception of a target to be consistent with the type of interaction they expect. It was predicted that Ss expecting to aggress would deindividuate their target through the selective recall of deindividuating information. Conversely, Ss expecting a prosocial interaction should individuate the target. Further, angry Ss should deindividuate the individual who angered them. 124 male undergraduates were either angered or not angered by an experimental confederate and then given the opportunity to either shock, reward, or have no interaction with him. Ss recalled information about the confederate either prior to or after the learning task. Ss expecting to aggress deindividuated the target, whereas Ss expecting a prosocial interaction individuated him. Angry Ss deindividuated the target; nonangry Ss did not. Since the selective recall of information occurred prior to the interaction, the deindividuation (individuation) was aimed at facilitating future behavior rather than justifying it. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Knowledge-based information acquisition: Norms and the functions of consensus information.

Mill's (1872/1973) method of difference prescribes that the lay scientist should use consensus information as a control condition for the person and distinctiveness information as a control condition for the stimulus when analyzing their causal effects on the occurrence of the target event. However, in studies of information acquisition, subjects have shown a consistent preference for distinctiveness information when answering causal questions about the person, and for consensus information when answering causal questions about the stimulus. To explain this discrepancy, we distinguish between the evaluative, contrastive, and corroborative functions of consensus and distinctiveness information. In addition, we suggest that Ss seek consensus information only if it is relevant to the question posed to them, and if they cannot supply it from their own presupposed knowledge of behavioral norms. We report 4 information acquisition experiments that provide support for our analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)