"Beach Blanket" Experiment, Tom Moriarty

The power of situation and conformity happens every day. Tom Moriarty conducted an experiment with social responsibility in situations with strangers. In one scenario Tom would arrange for a confederate to leave her purse on a public table. In another scenario the confederate would leave a radio on a blanket on a crowded beach. After this happened another confederate of his team would walk by and steal the items. 

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Nearly half the time virtually no one stopped the criminal from escaping with the purse or radio. However, if the confederate owning the purse or radio were to ask a nearby person, involving minimal social contact, to watch his/her belongings,the situation would change. The person asked (after creating a direct social responsibility) would honor the obligation and intervene in the stealing of the item. 

The implications of these findings state a few self evident benefits. Social situations can create and modify individual behavior. All one must do to create a bond or social responsibility at its base level is to simply ask for help. See ABC's Re-Creating the 'Beach Blanket' Experiment for more. 

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My other blog(s): Our Physiochemical Environment, Environmental Economic Growth,
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