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THE KINDNESS OF STRANGERS Robert Levine California State University, Fresno

The Science of Compassion, Telluride, CO July, 2012

Eckman’s Typology of Compassion • • • •

Familial Familiar Strangers Sentient

City people "have no manners, no courtesy, no consideration for the rights of others, and no humanity."

Thomas Wolfe

Inle Lake market, Myanmar (Burma)

Where do People Help?

Research questions: (1) How does overall helping compare from one city and region to another?

(2) How well does population size predict helping, and in which situations?

(3) Which other characteristics of communities-demographic, social, environmental and economic conditions--best predict differences in helping toward strangers?

Six measures of helping: • Does a man with a hurt leg receive assistance picking up a dropped magazine?

• Will a blind person be helped to cross a busy street?

• Is an "unnoticed" dropped pen retrieved by a passerby?

Six measures of helping: • Does a man with a hurt leg receive assistance picking up a dropped magazine?

• Will a blind person be helped to cross a busy street?

• Is an "unnoticed" dropped pen retrieved by a passerby?

• Will a stranger try to make change for a quarter?

• Do people take the time to mail a stamped and addressed "lost" letter?

• How much does a city contribute per capita to United Way?

Helping Strangers in U.S. Cities

Source: American Scientist, May-June 2003, Volume 91

Helping in 24 Cities, Summer 2005 Overall Helping Dropped Pen Hurt Leg a) City Rank (Score Rank % Help Rank % Help Knoxville, TN 1 (3.45) 9 (55%) 7 (73%) Kansas City, MO 2 (2.91) 6 (59%) 2 (81%) Louisville, KY 3 (2.52) 2 (70%) 9 (71%) Indianapolis, IN 4 (2.38) 4 (62%) 5 (77%) Dallas, TX 5 (2.31) 1 (83%) 12.5 (67%) Nashville, TN 6 (2.28) 3 (63%) 4 (77%) Sacramento, CA 7 (1.88) 7 (59%) 6 (75%) Chattanooga, TN 8 (1.71) 14 (48%) 1 (83%) Worcester, MA 9 (1.49) 10 (53%) 10 (67%) Springfield, MA 10 (1.19) 13 (50%) 12.5 (67%) Providence, RI 11 (.96) 5 (60%) 17 (60%) Lansing, MI 12 (.23) 22 (23%) 12.5 (67%) Fresno, CA 13 (-.30) 12 (52%) 18 (55%) Rochester, NY 14 (-.39) 16 (36%) 12.5 (67%) Bakersfield, CA 15 (-.39) 11 (53%) 21 (42%) San Jose, CA 16 (-.63) 15 (42%) 3 (78%) Detroit, MI 17 (-.86) 17 (36%) 15 (65%) Boston, MA 18 (-1.23) 23 (20%) 8 (72%) Youngstown, PA 19 (-1.36) 8 (58%) 23 (31%) Atlanta, GA 20 (-.77) 18 (35%) 16 (60%) Chicago, IL 21 (-.76) 19 (29%) 19 (53%) Los Angeles, CA 22 (-.62) 20 (29%) 20 (48%) San Francisco,CA 23 (-.25) 21 (27%) 22 (39%) New York, NY 24 (-.73) 24 (15%) 24 (13%) a Average of standardized scores (M = 10, SD = 1.0%) for the three measures

Change Rank % Help 1 (71%) 3 (54%) 6.5 (47%) 6.5 (47%) 13.5 (37%) 9 (44%) 11 (44%) 8 (44%) 4 (50%) 5 (48%) 12 (41%) 2 (57%) 16 (34%) 13.5 (37%) 10 (44%) 22 (19%) 18 (31%) 17 (33%) 15 (35%) 19 (23%) 21 (19%) 24 (11%) 23 (12%) 20 (22%)

RESULTS: HELPFULNESS IS HIGHER IN PLACES WITH • Smaller population size and less population density • Lower rates of population change • Less (yes, less) affluent economies (e.g. lower overall incomes, more people below the poverty line) • Slower pace of life (e.g. walking speed) • Crime rates?

For more information, you can download “The Kindness of Strangers� (from American Scientist) from my website: www.boblevine.net

Thupten Jimpa: The need to sharpen our constructs • Civility vs. Helping • Concern vs. Action (Paul Ekman) –Does compassion always arise through the empathy route?

(Thupten Jimpa)

Compassionate places vs.

Compassionate people -----The power of social norms

“I’ve always depended on the kindness of strangers.”

--Blanche Dubois in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire

The End