Peer pressure or similar types of social influence may play an especially important role in affecting helping behavior in collectivist cultures, where there are strong pressures to conform to norms. In a study looking at bystander intervention in bullying in Italy (a relatively individualist culture) and Singapore (a relatively collectivist culture), researchers asked participants to report how much they felt their peers expected them to intervene in bullying situations. While students in both countries were more likely to report intervening when they felt more pressure from peers, this relationship was stronger for students in Singapore
We turn now from focusing on the question of whether some people are more helpful than others to our final major question of the chapter: Are some people more likely to receive help than others? We also explore some of the interpersonal aspects of helping.