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- Title
A Taxonomy of Helping: A Multidimensional Scaling Analysis.
- Authors
Pearce, Philip L.; Amato, Paul R.
- Abstract
It is argued that the social psychological literature on helping lacks an organizing framework that interrelates the various forms of helping. To provide such a framework a total of 72 Australian university students rated the similarity of 62 forms of helping derived from the literature. Multidimensional scaling analyses with fitted vectors suggest a stable, three-dimensional structure of helping. These dimensions are: planned, formal vs. spontaneous, informal help; serious vs. nonserious help; and giving, indirect vs. doing, direct help. This typology is shown to he useful for the interpretation of previous literature on helping. Furthermore, it is demonstrated that the taxonomy of helping is useful in stimulating new directions in helping research, in creating new helping forms, and in planning helping studies. The generality of the present taxonomy needs to be tested with other national and subcultural groups.
- Subjects
AUSTRALIA; MULTIDIMENSIONAL scaling; PSYCHOMETRICS; SOCIAL psychology; COLLEGE students; TAXONOMY
- Publication
Social Psychology Quarterly, 1980, Vol 43, Issue 4, p363
- ISSN
0190-2725
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.2307/3033956