Y2K affiliation, immediate pedestrian density, and helping responses to lost letters.
Of 75 letters "lost" in Florida, 41 were returned in the mail (the helpful response). Immediate pedestrian density was significantly related to nonhelping responses. The greater the number of subjects passing by a lost letter, the less likely any one of them would respond to it. The rates of return did vary with the addressees' affiliations. Returned responses for the affiliates, Y2K Arkbuilders and the Believers of God's Judgement Against Homosexuals: Y2K Millennium Bug, were substantially lower than for the affiliate, Y2K Computer Repair & Programming, Inc. Returns for the Believers of God's Judgement Against Homosexuals: Y2K Millennium Bug affiliate were significantly lower than for the Y2K Arkbuilders affiliate. Variables such as sex, race, and estimated age of subjects were not associated with helping to return a lost letter. The rate of return of lost letters is not the only important measure to be examined in studies using lost letters.
Bridges
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FS
Division of Health, Leisure and Exercise Science, The University of West Florida, Pensacola 32514-5750, USA. fbridges@uwf.edu
Thompson
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PC
D002910:Chronology as Topic; D003199:Computer Systems; D015709:Correspondence as Topic; D005544:Forecasting; D006379:Helping Behavior; D006801:Humans; D011156:Population Density; D012922:Social Change