Effects of Machiavellianism and communication on helping behaviour during an emergency

Abstract

Studies relating Machiavellianism and helping behaviour have yielded contradictory data. The present experiment examined situational effects (subjects alone, in communicating triads, and in non‐communicating triads) on the helping behaviour of low and high Machs. While working on an apparent experimental task, university students heard a loud crash and cries for help coming from outside the experimental room. Low Machs helped significantly more often than high Machs, though the effect was mainly due to decreased helping by high Mach communicating triads. Contrary to previous helping behaviour research, face‐to‐face communication led to decreases in helping. Analysis of communication indicated that cue exchange was in fact more facilitated in non‐communicating groups, where ‘startle responses’ were more obvious. The results are discussed in terms of the social influence explanation of group size effects on helping. It is suggested that differences in low and high Mach communication patterns rather than differences in their sympathy for fellow human beings might account for the greater helping by low Machs. The need to explore the interaction of individual and situational factors in future research is stressed.