Degree of Active Helping: An Interaction between Extraversion and Self-Esteem

Sarah Rich

Self-Esteem: Dimension of personality concerned with “how much a person likes, accepts, and respects oneself overall as a person” (“Self-Esteem”, 2001). It is a central dimension of personality and strongly affects the way people behave in society (Kawash, 1982).

Extraversion: Dimension of personality concerned with a person’s general level of activity and sociability (“Extraversion and Introversion”). Extraverts tend to seek out highly arousing activities where as introverts try to avoid arousing social situations (Burger, 2000).

Emergency Situations: “Emergency situations are differentiated from other problem situations by threat of harm or actual harm worsening with time, unavailability of an easy solution to the problem, and necessity of obtaining outside help to solve the problem” (Shotland & Huston, 1979).

Article # 1: Sarah I

Suda, W., Fouts, G. (1980). Effects of Peer Presence on Helping in Introverted and

Extraverted Children. Child Development, 1272-1274.

· Discusses how extraverted children were more likely to help than introverted children in a classroom situation.

Article # 2:

Wilson, J. P., & Petruska, R. (1984). Motivation, Model Attributes, and Prosocial

Behavior. Journal of personality and Social Psychology, 458-466.

· Discusses how high self-esteem is related to one’s desire to behave in a pro-social manner.

Article # 3:

Tice, D.M., & Baumeister, R. F., (1995). Masculinity Inhibits Helping in Emergencies:

Personality Does Predict the Bystander Effect. Journal of Personality and Social

Psychology. 49 (2), 420-42.8

· Discusses how personality factors are predictors of how people act in emergency situations and how likely certain personality types are to help others.

Study Question: Does a person’s extraversion level and self-esteem level interact to determine his or her level of helping in an emergency situation?

Design: 2 X 2

IV: Extraversion and Introversion

IV2: Self-Esteem

DV: Level of helping (Determined by responses to emergency situations: scale from 1-4)

Procedure:

1. EPI- to determine extraversion level
2. Self-Esteem Inventory- to determine self-esteem level
3. Emergency Situations Questionnaire–10 emergency situations with 4 different response options: a) Extreme, active, helping role b) Average, active, helping role c) Passive helping role d) Passive role (rating scale to be applied 4 being most active, 1 being passive). To be honest, this is your DV but I do no know how you plan measuring. Does a high helper score highest on all sub-sets or just active helping.

Hypothesis: Individuals with high levels of extraversion and high levels of self-esteem will choose more active helping roles in emergency situations and those with decreased levels of extraversion and self-esteem will choose more passive roles in emergency situations.

1) Prediction of two main effects: E>I, and HSE>LSE

2) Prediction that the degree of active helping depends on the interaction of self-esteem and Intro/Ext such that individuals with high self-esteem are more likely to help than low but most likely to help if they are extraverts and less so if they are introverts.

	Extravert	Introvert
H. Self-Esteem	38	18
L. Self-Esteem	24	15