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social psychology
The faster your city, the less likely you are to help.
A 1999 study of 31 cities found a correlation between an aggregate 'pace of life' index—which included walking speed, work speed, and public clock accuracy—and the likelihood to assist a stranger.
The study did not rely on walking speed alone; it used a composite 'pace of life' index to analyze altruistic behavior.
The environment you live in changes your baseline for kindness.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Levine and Norenzayan, 1999
- What the check found
- The cited study exists and is famous, but the claim oversimplifies the methodology by isolating one of three variables to describe the correlation.
- Confidence
- Solid, with limits
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.