Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-1-2014
Published In
Journal Of Applied Social Psychology
Abstract
According to an oft-quoted piece of folk wisdom, if one wants something accomplished, the best person to ask is a busy person. We tested a version of this proposition in two studies. Study 1 exposed participants to a helping request in which cues promoting the relevant behavior were made more salient than those inhibiting it. Study 2 featured a request in which inhibiting cues were made more salient than cues promoting the behavior. In both studies, participants who were "busied" by high cognitive load showed more influence of the dominant behavioral pressure than did participants under minimal load. The results suggest that busy people can respond more to a helping appeal, but only when cues facilitating helping are more salient than those discouraging it.
Recommended Citation
Matthew Richard Wallaert , '05; Andrew Ward; and T. Mann.
(2014).
"Ask A Busy Person: Attentional Myopia And Helping".
Journal Of Applied Social Psychology.
Volume 44,
Issue 7.
505-510.
DOI: 10.1111/jasp.12242
https://works.swarthmore.edu/fac-psychology/196
Comments
This work is a preprint that has been provided to PubMed Central courtesy of Wiley.
The final publication version can be freely accessed courtesy of Wiley's Content Sharing service.