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Altruism and Human Kindness: Internal and External Determinants of Helping Behavior

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Perspectives in Interactional Psychology

Abstract

In several incidents, of which the Kitty Genovese tragedy is the best known and best publicized, bystanders have watched without offering assistance while other humans have suffered and even died. In the Genovese case, thirty-eight persons witnessed a woman being repeatedly stabbed; not one intervened, not one called the police.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 66044, USA

    C. Daniel Batson

  2. Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, 08540, USA

    John M. Darley

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas, 66044, USA

    Jay S. Coke

Authors
  1. C. Daniel Batson
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  2. John M. Darley
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  3. Jay S. Coke
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Rutgers University Livingston College, New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA

    Lawrence A. Pervin

  2. Institute for the Study of Exceptional Children, Educational Testing Service, Princeton, New Jersey, USA

    Michael Lewis

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© 1978 Plenum Press, New York

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Batson, C.D., Darley, J.M., Coke, J.S. (1978). Altruism and Human Kindness: Internal and External Determinants of Helping Behavior. In: Pervin, L.A., Lewis, M. (eds) Perspectives in Interactional Psychology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3997-7_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3997-7_6

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