Helping them stay where they are: Status effects on dependency/autonomy-oriented helping

Arie Nadler*, Lily Chernyak-Hai

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

87 Scopus citations

Abstract

On the basis of expectation states theory and Weiner's attributional model of help giving (Weiner, 1980), we predicted that low-status help seekers would be viewed as chronically dependent and their need as due to lack of ability, leading to the giving of dependency-oriented help (i.e., full solution to the problem). High-status help seekers were expected to be viewed as competent and their request as representing their high motivation to overcome a transient difficulty, resulting in autonomy-oriented help (i.e., tools to solve the problem). Help seeking is viewed as a stigma-consistent behavior that implies weakness when help seekers are low-status individuals and as strength when they are high-status individuals. Three experiments supported these predictions. The 4th experiment indicated that low-status persons who seek autonomy-oriented help are not seen as chronically dependent. Implications of these findings for helping and inequality are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)58-72
Number of pages15
JournalJournal of Personality and Social Psychology
Volume106
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2014

Keywords

  • Attributions
  • Autonomy/dependency-oriented help
  • Feelings
  • Help seeking
  • Status

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