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The Importance Of Being Asked

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  • Federico Varese
  • Meir Yaish

Abstract

A common phenomenon in social life is that some individuals help others and a few even risk their lives to benefit others, as in the case of those who helped Jews escape persecution in Nazi Europe. A few scholars single out motivations as the prime explanation of these rescue activities, yet concede that material opportunities, information, and other situational factors might have played a role. Their work, however, stops short of offering an account of the nature and importance of these factors. In this article, we focus on the importance of opportunities and situational factors, with specific reference to the rescue of Jews from persecution during World War II. Following a secondary analysis of data on those who did and did not rescue Jews during the Nazi occupation of Europe, we show that a direct request for help substantially increased the likelihood of being rescued. We also explore the other side of the situation, namely whom were the Jews likely to ask for help? Jews were likely to ask people they knew and people they trusted to act as mediators. Finally, we show that few of those who were asked to help did not help. This finding suggests the existence of a selection mechanism: rescuers signalled their disposition to help and were subsequently asked. We conclude that opportunities and situational factors are crucial in accounting for the observed acts of helping.

Suggested Citation

  • Federico Varese & Meir Yaish, 2000. "The Importance Of Being Asked," Rationality and Society, , vol. 12(3), pages 307-334, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ratsoc:v:12:y:2000:i:3:p:307-334
    DOI: 10.1177/104346300012003003
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Avner Offer, 1997. "Between the gift and the market: the economy of regard," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 50(3), pages 450-476, August.
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    Cited by:

    1. Becker, Sascha O. & Mukand, Sharun & Yotzov, Ivan, 2022. "Persecution, pogroms and genocide: A conceptual framework and new evidence," Explorations in Economic History, Elsevier, vol. 86(C).
    2. Bruno S. Frey & Stephan Meier, "undated". "Pro-Social Behavior, Reciprocity or Both?," IEW - Working Papers 107, Institute for Empirical Research in Economics - University of Zurich.
    3. Karl-Dieter Opp, 2013. "Norms and rationality. Is moral behavior a form of rational action?," Theory and Decision, Springer, vol. 74(3), pages 383-409, March.
    4. Joseph Ntayi & Pascal Ngoboka & Cornelia Kakooza, 2013. "Moral Schemas and Corruption in Ugandan Public Procurement," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 112(3), pages 417-436, February.
    5. Nicolas Baumard, 2011. "Punishment is not a group adaptation," Mind & Society: Cognitive Studies in Economics and Social Sciences, Springer;Fondazione Rosselli, vol. 10(1), pages 1-26, June.
    6. Esser, Hartmut, 2005. "Rationalität und Bindung : das Modell der Frame-Selektion und die Erklärung des normativen Handelns," Papers 05-16, Sonderforschungsbreich 504.
    7. Ariane Bertogg & Sebastian Koos, 2022. "Who Received Informal Social Support During the First COVID-19 Lockdown in Germany, and Who Did Not? The Role of Social Networks, Life Course and Pandemic-Specific Risks," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 163(2), pages 585-607, September.
    8. Clemens Kroneberg & Meir Yaish & Volker Stocké, 2010. "Norms and Rationality in Electoral Participation and in the Rescue of Jews in WWII," Rationality and Society, , vol. 22(1), pages 3-36, February.
    9. Yossi Perelman & Meir Yaish & Benjamin Bental, 2019. "The price of religiosity: Enticing young Haredi men into secular academic studies," Rationality and Society, , vol. 31(2), pages 129-151, May.
    10. Kroneberg, Clemens & Stocké, Volker & Yaish, Meir, 2006. "Norms or rationality? : The rescue of jews, electoral participation, and educational decisions," Papers 06-09, Sonderforschungsbreich 504.
    11. Frey, Bruno S. & Meier, Stephan, 2004. "Pro-social behavior in a natural setting," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 54(1), pages 65-88, May.
    12. Chenoweth, Erica & Perkoski, Evan, 2019. "A Source of Escalation or a Source of Restraint? An Empirical Investigation of How Civil Society Affects Mass Killings," Working Paper Series rwp19-027, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government.
    13. Esser, Hartmut, 2005. "Rationalität und Bindung. Das Modell der Frame-Selektion und die Erklärung des normativen Handelns," Sonderforschungsbereich 504 Publications 05-16, Sonderforschungsbereich 504, Universität Mannheim;Sonderforschungsbereich 504, University of Mannheim.

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