REGIONAL PECULIARITIES OF HELPING BEHAVIOR (BASED ON STUDENTS EXAMPLES)

The paper examines the types of helping behavior in a number of categories, such as external conditions and social norms. The types of dependence on motivation for different social norms are specified: the norm of reciprocity, the norm of social responsibility. The hypothesis of scientific work is the assumption that there are regional differences in people’s behavior when it comes to the situation of helping someone (man, animal). The paper examines the attitude of students living in different regions to providing assistance immediately when they meet with those in need, their attitude to charity, participation in charity events, and the desire to provide assistance anonymously. 236 students from Moscow, Kaluga and Orekhovo-Zuyevo took part in our empirical study. The age range of students varied from 18 to 27 years (M=19.59; SD=1.34). The aim of the study was to compare the severity of assistance types (public, anonymous) rendered by the students of metropolitan and regional universities. The public type is represented through assistance to certain people or animals that an individual meets in various situations. This kind of help is the help in situations of immediate - “eye to eye” - interaction. There are often witnesses in such situations. The anonymous type includes situations of charity, that is, impersonal assistance to unknown people with whom the individual does not meet directly and knows nothing about them, except that they need help. Often this assistance is rendered through charitable foundations. The findings of the study indicate the differences in helping behavior among students of three regions - a big urban center, a regional city, and a small town.