- Email: [email protected]
The concept of required helpfulness
THE
CONCEPT
OF REQUIRED
HELPFULNESS
S. RACHMAN Department
of Psychology. Institute of Psychiatq. London SE5 8AF. England
De Cresplgnl
Park.
of this note is to link several pieces of information by means of the concept of required helpfulness. and to then make some deductions from the ensuing analysis. The concept was introduced in recognition of the fact that people who are required to carry out dangerous/difficult tasks that are socially desirable, often manage to do so effectively and without strain (Rachman, 1976). As used here. required helpfulness refers to dangerous/difficult acts that are performed in response to social requirements-in order to reduce or prevent other people from experiencing serious discomfort. Under the incentive of high social demands, helpers often act more effectively and more persistently than at other times. The execution of successful acts of required helpfulness may lead to enduring changes in the helper himself. It is suggested that three main factors contribute to the success of acts of required helpfulness-level of skill. level of social demand. and group morale. The first factor, skill, is the helpfulness part of the compound. and the other 2 factors are motivational-the required part of the compound. The information on which the concept is based comes from two main sources. Wartime observations showed that fear reactions can be controlled to some extent, if during exposure to stress, the person engages in some form of activity. Furthermore. those activities which involve taking responsibility for other people appear to have especially valuable fear-reducing or fear-preventing properties (Rachman. 1978). To quote from Janis’s (1951) comprehensive review of th effects of air war. “one particular type of activity that has been emphasized by several observers as being effective in reducing air raid anxieties is the performance of tasks which require responsibility for others . during the period when the raid is going on,” (p. 122). The second but less well documented source of information comes from clinical observations on psychiatric patients who are able to overcome their own disabilities. however temporarily, in order to assist someone else who is in great need. One also thinks here of mothers who successfully conceal their fears in order to help their children overcome their fears. A third potential source of information is of course the experimental laboratory. and here a small start has been recorded by Rakos and Schroeder (1976). Despite its unsystematic quality. the information gathered during wartime is rich in interest and will be used here in order to convey the core of the concept; an extended account of fear reactions during times of war is given elsewhere (Rachman. 1978). In an early review of the effects of bombing on civilian populations during World War II. Vernon (1941) observed that “defence workers mostly recover their poise readily and set about rescuing casualties, fire fighting, etc. immediately.” Writing in the Lurlcet in 1942. a prominent psychiatrist. Dr. Henry Wilson. observed that there were very few psychiatric casualties after aerial bombardment. and emphasized that hardly any people employed in essential services required help in overcoming adverse psychological reactions. The Divisional Police Surgeon for the vulnerable London suburb in which Wilson made his observations, reported only one psychiatric case among the 900 policemen under his care. Wilson himself found it necessary to treat only one fireman out of the group of 63 within his catchment area, despite the fact that they were repeatedly exposed to great danger and intensive stimulation. In his wide-ranging survey of neurotic responses to air raids, Sir Aubrey Lewis (1942) also remarked on the comparative invulnerability of fire-fighters and other people engaged in essential services. He The purpose
“R.l 17I--*
1
2
S.
RACH~~AN
went on to propose that engaging in a socially useful occupation might have provided a form of inoculation against stress. Janis reaches a similar conclusion: “People w.ho face danger tend to feel less fearful if they are able to engage in some form of useful overt activity”, (1951. p. 120). It is worth mentioning that there was an astonishingly low incidence of psychiatric casualties as a result of the air raids; Lewis even suggested that some people who were previously of poor mental health were considerably, i~p~~*eti by undertaking socially necessary work--“they have a definite and satisfying job”. Along the same lines Rakos and Schroeder (1976) recently showed that snake phobic subjects who were required to help other phobics overcome their fear of snakes. benefited from their experiences. The significant reduction in the fears of these helpers were attributed to the demands of their helping role and to the beneficial effects of modeling the appropriate coping behaviour. This finding is of considerable interest and further investigations of what can be called “therapy through helping others”. is strongly recommended. The adverse effects produced by increasing the social demands on patients with psychological difficulties are so commonly observed that the exceptions are all the more striking. Some of these exceptions are attributable to the operation of required helpfulness, and can be illustrated by clinical examples in which required helpfulness enabled two people overcome their own disabilities-at least temporarily. The first patient was a middle-aged woman suffering from a severe. chronic and disabling obsessional illness that had forced her to live in an institution for a considerable part of her adult life. She was crippled by the need to carry out prolonged and intensive cleaning and checking rituals, to the exclusion of a normal social and occupational life. However, when her mother developed a serious physical illness she found herself able. for the first time in over a decade, to take over the running of the household. In a short period of time she was able to overcome what had been virtually a housebound existence sufficiently well to carry out the daily shopping. prepare daily meals. carry out the cleaning and other household tasks. and she even began to regain some of her earlier interests. Regrettably, these improvements were short-lived. Shortly after her mother regained her health, the patient resumed her abnormal ritualistic activities and was left as disabled as she had been prior to this extraordinary episode. The second case concerns a married woman who had a moderate obsessional disorder that was at times incapacitating. Shortly before the episode to be described. she had begun making useful progress during her treatment as an in-patient. but there seems little doubt that her improvement was significantly accelerated when she was required to assume the care of her husband who suddenly fell ill. She responded to the new demands quickly. competently and without question. Apart from their value as illustrations of the concept of required helpfulness. these clinical episodes are interesting examples of what one might call parado.uical reactions to stress. The essential features of required helpfulness are that there is a threat to the well-being of one or more people, and that responsibility for reducing that threat rests with an agreed agent or agents. Completion of the required action is socially desirable and the person called upon to carry out the task (the helper), acts under high social demand. If the task is not performed satisfactorily, people may experience considerable discomfort or harm. Sole or partial responsibility for completing the task rests with the helper. (Incidentally. it is recognised that required helpfulness is in some sense the inverse of learned helpfulness, but the differences so outweigh the similarities that the relations between the two concepts will not be pursued.) The three major factors which are thought to influence the execution of acts of required helpfulness-skills, social demand and group morale-will be considered in turn. T/w imporrance qf skills trainittg. While it is bound to be true that some people are better able to carry out the functions of a helper under difficult and dangerous conditions (one thinks here of Garmezy’s concept of ‘invulnerability’, 1974). wartime observations and reports on the performance of psychiatric patients, suggest that ~nost
The concept
of requcred helpfulness
3
people can meet the demand of required helpfulness. at least on some occasions. Here it is interesting to notice that the British military authorities assume that virtually any person who is fit for military duties can be trained to carry out the extraordinarily demanding and dangerous tasks of bomb disposal work. According to Macdonald (1975). no positive selection process is used in recruiting soldiers for this work. Instead. every soldier in the ordnance branch is expected to undergo the required training and to perform bomb disposal duties when needed. Recruitment into the ordnance branch generally takes place at an early age and once the young soldier has completed his apprenticeship, he is eligible for special training in bomb disposal work. At the time of original recruitment no particular attention is paid to the young man’s suitability for such tasks: instead, it is assumed that any apprentice who completes his ordnance training satisfactorily, and a large majority of them do. is capable of carrying out bomb disposal duties once he has had the specialized training that is provided. As is evident from Macdonald’s account, this policy of recruitment, apprenticeship and thorough training has been remarkably successful. If the present emphasis on the importance of skills training in preparing people to cope with difficult/dangerous tasks is allowed. several deductions can be made. Adequate training serves to reduce fear and other unwanted behaviour by increasing the person’s sense of control, and by reducing the unpredictability of the situation. It can be deduced that given the necessary training, those difficult/dangerous tasks which demand the greatest skill will be accompanied by least fear. Secondly. the fear that arises during the conduct of difficult/dangerous tasks that require little skill will be more strongly determined by (social) demand factors. As a corollary, the performance of these (less skillful) but dangerous tasks will show greater variability. Conversely, difficult/dangerous tasks which require great skill will be less influenced by (social) demand factors; performances of these (skilled) tasks will show little variability. Social dema&s. Under the pressure of high social demands the helper’s performance may well exceed his normal level of competence. These superior achievements are attributable to at least three factors: increased persistence, the activation of dormant skills. and increased tolerance for discomfort. The successful completion of acts of required helpfulness will contribute to the person’s sense of competence. and may also produce emotional effects (e.g. exhilaration) and motivational increments. Examples of occupations that place people in situations where required helpfulness is called upon. include bomb disposal experts. firemen. nurses, policemen. lifeboat crews etc. People who fill these roles are required to help avert or overcome danger and discomforts that threaten other members of the community. and their successes are acknowledged by public praise. It is interesting that when a normally responsible helper. such as a nurse, is not an agreed agent (e.g. is on leave), her effectiveness may be diminished. For example, an experienced nursing sister who regularly copes with medical emergencies at her hospital finds it almost impossible to provide satisfactory assistance at road accidents. She feels significantly less competent. is sometimes fearful and almost always upset by extra-mural emergencies. To take another example, a veteran bomb disposal expert experienced an atypical and strong fear reaction when he encountered a suspicious looking object while travelling in a train during a period of leave. Examples of this kind point out the important part played by the group and institutional supports (tools, colleagues, routines) that generally are provided for an agent who is carrying out an act of required helpfulness. How and why do these institutional supports influence behaviour? In the first place, the presence of other members of what is often a small working group can increase one’s motivation (for examples from air-force crews, see Rachman, 1978) and one’s sense of competence. The presence of familiar colleagues affects the person’s competence directly and indirectly-after all, one’s colleagues contribute to the skills which are available to deal with the problem at hand. The availability of the necessary equipment and the use of standard operating procedures enable the helper to use his skills satisfactorily. Thirdly, even if other members of the working group
4
S.
RACHMAV
are not present. some evident sign of the helper’s affiliation (e.g. a fireman’s uniform) enables observers to recognize his role and responsibility. and to behave towards him in an appropriate manner. This recognition of the helper’s role by the observers. and their accompanying behaviour and expectations. serve to increase the demands placed on the helper: the level of demand is likely to be weaker if the helper has to face the threat in isolation. The power of what might be called social role demands is well illustrated in an incident recalled by Harold Macmillan (1966. p. 89). When in the course of a battle “fear. not to say panic. seized during the First World War, he became isolated. me . when one is responsible for men under one’s command. proper behaviour. even acts of gallantry are part of the show but now it was all over: I was alone and nobody to see me. There was no need to keep up appearances, and I was frightened.” While on the subject of role demand and institutional support. it is worth considering why people carry out dangerous and uncomfortable tasks for the benefit of others. Among additional factors that could be included. the following are likely to be concerned: personal and public praise and recognition. the status and financial rewards provided for carrying out the tasks. high job-satisfaction. and acceptance within a small group of valued colleagues. A further indication of the importance of role demand can be seen in the observation that professional helpers. such as bomb disposal experts. report that it is psychologically more comfortable to participate in rendering a threat harmless than to remain a passive observer while one’s colleagues risk danger-but there are exceptions. as when the potential helper is not an agreed agent (see above). The cfects qfgroup morale. One of the clearest findings to emerge from studies carried out by military psychologists during the Second World War was the over-riding importance of group membership and group morale (see Rachman, 1978). In many situations. particularly those which were dangerous and demanding, the soldiers’ and airmen’s actions were motivated by the desire to avoid failing their comrades. The motivational strength of these group factors exceeded almost all others. and in combat conditions was snore powerful tharl the ,fear qf death. Observations on civilian workers engaged in difficult/dangerous tasks confirm the importance of group membership in motivating and controlling behaviour under difficult conditions. Irtceririres. There will be little argument about the claim that the competence which many people display when required to act as a helper. can be accounted for in part by the increment in motivation resulting from the social pressures which are acting on the person concerned. Given an adequate incentive, people perform more persistently and thereby increase the chances of successful accomplishment of the task. They will also tolerate more discomfort. Furthermore. the increase in motivation will help to activate skills that might not otherwise be called upon. In the nature of its situational limitations. it is to be expected that the motivational contribution to the performance of helpful tasks will be temporary. If there were no other factors at work. performance would return to its earlier level as soon as the motivational pressure was lifted. As has been argued in this paper however. there are long-term consequences of successfully performing the required acts of helpfulness. These more enduring changes are difficult to account for in terms of motivational boosts. Instead they suggest that some form of learning has taken place. As mentioned earlier. Rakos and Schroeder attributed part of the therapeutic change recorded in their experiment. to the acquisition of new coping skills. It is probable that in addition to the formally-provided training for helping professions, execution of the required tasks. followed by the appropriate feedback. will lead to the growth of new coping skills. Another type of learning which probably contrihutes to enduring improvements in competence can be traced to the habituation which often takes place during repeated exposures to frightening stimulation (see Rachman. 1978). Helpers who are obliged to undertake dangerous tasks repeatedly are thereby exposed to the stimuli in a way that contributes to the habituation of autonomic reactions which form part of the fear reaction. Three s~~stems. If we carry out a three-systems analysis of fear, it becomes evident
The concept
of required
helpfulness
5
how required helpfulness can contribute to the modification of each of the three major components (see Lang, 1970: Rachman. 1978). Repeated exposures to intensive stimulation will facilitate the habituation of the psychophysiological component of fear. formal training and repeated experiences will lead to improved coping behaviour. and successful performance accomplishments will in turn contribute to an improved sense of personal competence (the cognitive component). Insofar as the operation of required helpfulness. at least in respect of fear-provoking tasks. is a function of high (social) demand. it should show the same patterns of desynchronous changes that are postulated to occur under other circumstances of high demand. So for example, Hodgson and Rachman (1974) and Rachman and Hodgson (1974) have postulated that a high level of demand will produce discordance between the three components of fear. As applied to the concept of required helpfulness this hypothesis needs little addition. Fear-provoking or other dangerous tasks in which high (social) demands are made on the helper, whould produce discordance and desynchronous changes in the three components. However, the performance of skilled helpers who are capable of acting with great competence. will be less influenced by fluctuations in demand: hence their performances should show less desynchrony. So for example. a highly skilled bomb disposal expert will be less influenced by changes in level of demand, and his three systems will remain concordant while carrying out his dangerous duties. Because of the important role ascribed to social influence. it is to be expected that the required helpfulness phenomenon will be weak or absent under conditions of social isolation, regardless of whether such isolation is physical or psychological. A psychologically isolated person will be less prone to the required helpfulness effect. whereas people with a well-developed sense of social responsibility will be strongly influenced by such pressures. In general it is to be expected that people who are members of a team or other close social unit will be most often and most strongly affected by required helpfulness. The strength of the required helpfulness effect will be determined by these personal attributes, by the perceived seriousness of the danger or discomfort, by the magnitude of the social incentives involved. and by the magnitude of the social pressures which are acting at the pertinent time. Applying these notions to potential therapeutic applications of the concept, it is to be expected that patients with a high sense of social responsibility are those who are most likely to benefit from the employment of methods influenced by the concept of required helpfulness. Additionally. their behaviour is most likely to be changed when the social incentive and pressures are of high magnitude and where they perceive the danger or discomfort to the threatened person to be high. On the other hand it is well to remember that the greater the social pressures acting on the person i.e. the greater the demands. the greater the likelihood that desynchronous changes will take place. Also. purely motivational pressures may produce transient changes in behaviour. To recapitulate, in acts of required helpfulness the helper’s performance may exceed his normal achievement. and may in addition lead to enduring changes in the helper himself. To put it another way. acts of required helpfulness can produce short-term or long-term improvements in performance and longer term increases in competence. Acktto~/rdgrrlte,lr.\-The
asststance
of R. Hallam
and C. Phihps
is gratefull!
acknowledged
REFERENCES GARMEZY N. (1974) The stud> of tnvulnerable chtldren. Schr:ophre~tra Bull. 9. 1I& 120. HODGSON R. and RACHMAS S. (1974) Desynchron! m measures of fear. Eeltut. Ret. Thu. 12, 319-326. JANIS 1. (1951) .4ir War and Etuorronul Srrc\.\. New York. McGraw Hill. LANG P. (1970) Stimulus control. response control and desenstttzation. In Leurui,ty ,~pprouc/tc.\ 10 Tlterrrpe~rtc Behavior Change. (Ed. D. LEVISI Aldine Press. Chtcago. L~wts A. (19421 Incidence of neurosis m England under war conditions. Lcrrrcrr 2. 175-.1X3. MCDONALD P. (1977) Sropprng rhr Ciocli. Hale. London. MACMILLAN H. (1966) U’irttl\ of Clwtyr. Macmillan. London
6
S. RACHMAS
RACHMAN S. (19761 Courage. fearlessness and fear. NCM. Scrcwisr 28, 77 I-273. RACHMAN S. (197X) Fwr a/u/ Cowuq~,. W. H. Freeman. San Franctsco. RACHMAN S. and HODGSON R. (19741 Synchron) and desychrony in fear and avoidance. Brhur. Rr\. T/TN. 12. 31 l-31X. RAKOS R. and SCHROEIXR H. (1976) Fear reduction in help-givers as a function of helptnp. J. com~l. P.~&Io/. 23. 42%435. VERNON P. (1941) Psychological effects ol” ax raids. J. ah~~nr~u/ .AOC.Pzwl~ol. 36. 457376. WILSON H. (1942) Mental reactions to air raids. Lnr~wr 2. 28;1287.
CONCEPT
OF REQUIRED
HELPFULNESS
S. RACHMAN Department
of Psychology. Institute of Psychiatq. London SE5 8AF. England
De Cresplgnl
Park.
of this note is to link several pieces of information by means of the concept of required helpfulness. and to then make some deductions from the ensuing analysis. The concept was introduced in recognition of the fact that people who are required to carry out dangerous/difficult tasks that are socially desirable, often manage to do so effectively and without strain (Rachman, 1976). As used here. required helpfulness refers to dangerous/difficult acts that are performed in response to social requirements-in order to reduce or prevent other people from experiencing serious discomfort. Under the incentive of high social demands, helpers often act more effectively and more persistently than at other times. The execution of successful acts of required helpfulness may lead to enduring changes in the helper himself. It is suggested that three main factors contribute to the success of acts of required helpfulness-level of skill. level of social demand. and group morale. The first factor, skill, is the helpfulness part of the compound. and the other 2 factors are motivational-the required part of the compound. The information on which the concept is based comes from two main sources. Wartime observations showed that fear reactions can be controlled to some extent, if during exposure to stress, the person engages in some form of activity. Furthermore. those activities which involve taking responsibility for other people appear to have especially valuable fear-reducing or fear-preventing properties (Rachman. 1978). To quote from Janis’s (1951) comprehensive review of th effects of air war. “one particular type of activity that has been emphasized by several observers as being effective in reducing air raid anxieties is the performance of tasks which require responsibility for others . during the period when the raid is going on,” (p. 122). The second but less well documented source of information comes from clinical observations on psychiatric patients who are able to overcome their own disabilities. however temporarily, in order to assist someone else who is in great need. One also thinks here of mothers who successfully conceal their fears in order to help their children overcome their fears. A third potential source of information is of course the experimental laboratory. and here a small start has been recorded by Rakos and Schroeder (1976). Despite its unsystematic quality. the information gathered during wartime is rich in interest and will be used here in order to convey the core of the concept; an extended account of fear reactions during times of war is given elsewhere (Rachman. 1978). In an early review of the effects of bombing on civilian populations during World War II. Vernon (1941) observed that “defence workers mostly recover their poise readily and set about rescuing casualties, fire fighting, etc. immediately.” Writing in the Lurlcet in 1942. a prominent psychiatrist. Dr. Henry Wilson. observed that there were very few psychiatric casualties after aerial bombardment. and emphasized that hardly any people employed in essential services required help in overcoming adverse psychological reactions. The Divisional Police Surgeon for the vulnerable London suburb in which Wilson made his observations, reported only one psychiatric case among the 900 policemen under his care. Wilson himself found it necessary to treat only one fireman out of the group of 63 within his catchment area, despite the fact that they were repeatedly exposed to great danger and intensive stimulation. In his wide-ranging survey of neurotic responses to air raids, Sir Aubrey Lewis (1942) also remarked on the comparative invulnerability of fire-fighters and other people engaged in essential services. He The purpose
“R.l 17I--*
1
2
S.
RACH~~AN
went on to propose that engaging in a socially useful occupation might have provided a form of inoculation against stress. Janis reaches a similar conclusion: “People w.ho face danger tend to feel less fearful if they are able to engage in some form of useful overt activity”, (1951. p. 120). It is worth mentioning that there was an astonishingly low incidence of psychiatric casualties as a result of the air raids; Lewis even suggested that some people who were previously of poor mental health were considerably, i~p~~*eti by undertaking socially necessary work--“they have a definite and satisfying job”. Along the same lines Rakos and Schroeder (1976) recently showed that snake phobic subjects who were required to help other phobics overcome their fear of snakes. benefited from their experiences. The significant reduction in the fears of these helpers were attributed to the demands of their helping role and to the beneficial effects of modeling the appropriate coping behaviour. This finding is of considerable interest and further investigations of what can be called “therapy through helping others”. is strongly recommended. The adverse effects produced by increasing the social demands on patients with psychological difficulties are so commonly observed that the exceptions are all the more striking. Some of these exceptions are attributable to the operation of required helpfulness, and can be illustrated by clinical examples in which required helpfulness enabled two people overcome their own disabilities-at least temporarily. The first patient was a middle-aged woman suffering from a severe. chronic and disabling obsessional illness that had forced her to live in an institution for a considerable part of her adult life. She was crippled by the need to carry out prolonged and intensive cleaning and checking rituals, to the exclusion of a normal social and occupational life. However, when her mother developed a serious physical illness she found herself able. for the first time in over a decade, to take over the running of the household. In a short period of time she was able to overcome what had been virtually a housebound existence sufficiently well to carry out the daily shopping. prepare daily meals. carry out the cleaning and other household tasks. and she even began to regain some of her earlier interests. Regrettably, these improvements were short-lived. Shortly after her mother regained her health, the patient resumed her abnormal ritualistic activities and was left as disabled as she had been prior to this extraordinary episode. The second case concerns a married woman who had a moderate obsessional disorder that was at times incapacitating. Shortly before the episode to be described. she had begun making useful progress during her treatment as an in-patient. but there seems little doubt that her improvement was significantly accelerated when she was required to assume the care of her husband who suddenly fell ill. She responded to the new demands quickly. competently and without question. Apart from their value as illustrations of the concept of required helpfulness. these clinical episodes are interesting examples of what one might call parado.uical reactions to stress. The essential features of required helpfulness are that there is a threat to the well-being of one or more people, and that responsibility for reducing that threat rests with an agreed agent or agents. Completion of the required action is socially desirable and the person called upon to carry out the task (the helper), acts under high social demand. If the task is not performed satisfactorily, people may experience considerable discomfort or harm. Sole or partial responsibility for completing the task rests with the helper. (Incidentally. it is recognised that required helpfulness is in some sense the inverse of learned helpfulness, but the differences so outweigh the similarities that the relations between the two concepts will not be pursued.) The three major factors which are thought to influence the execution of acts of required helpfulness-skills, social demand and group morale-will be considered in turn. T/w imporrance qf skills trainittg. While it is bound to be true that some people are better able to carry out the functions of a helper under difficult and dangerous conditions (one thinks here of Garmezy’s concept of ‘invulnerability’, 1974). wartime observations and reports on the performance of psychiatric patients, suggest that ~nost
The concept
of requcred helpfulness
3
people can meet the demand of required helpfulness. at least on some occasions. Here it is interesting to notice that the British military authorities assume that virtually any person who is fit for military duties can be trained to carry out the extraordinarily demanding and dangerous tasks of bomb disposal work. According to Macdonald (1975). no positive selection process is used in recruiting soldiers for this work. Instead. every soldier in the ordnance branch is expected to undergo the required training and to perform bomb disposal duties when needed. Recruitment into the ordnance branch generally takes place at an early age and once the young soldier has completed his apprenticeship, he is eligible for special training in bomb disposal work. At the time of original recruitment no particular attention is paid to the young man’s suitability for such tasks: instead, it is assumed that any apprentice who completes his ordnance training satisfactorily, and a large majority of them do. is capable of carrying out bomb disposal duties once he has had the specialized training that is provided. As is evident from Macdonald’s account, this policy of recruitment, apprenticeship and thorough training has been remarkably successful. If the present emphasis on the importance of skills training in preparing people to cope with difficult/dangerous tasks is allowed. several deductions can be made. Adequate training serves to reduce fear and other unwanted behaviour by increasing the person’s sense of control, and by reducing the unpredictability of the situation. It can be deduced that given the necessary training, those difficult/dangerous tasks which demand the greatest skill will be accompanied by least fear. Secondly. the fear that arises during the conduct of difficult/dangerous tasks that require little skill will be more strongly determined by (social) demand factors. As a corollary, the performance of these (less skillful) but dangerous tasks will show greater variability. Conversely, difficult/dangerous tasks which require great skill will be less influenced by (social) demand factors; performances of these (skilled) tasks will show little variability. Social dema&s. Under the pressure of high social demands the helper’s performance may well exceed his normal level of competence. These superior achievements are attributable to at least three factors: increased persistence, the activation of dormant skills. and increased tolerance for discomfort. The successful completion of acts of required helpfulness will contribute to the person’s sense of competence. and may also produce emotional effects (e.g. exhilaration) and motivational increments. Examples of occupations that place people in situations where required helpfulness is called upon. include bomb disposal experts. firemen. nurses, policemen. lifeboat crews etc. People who fill these roles are required to help avert or overcome danger and discomforts that threaten other members of the community. and their successes are acknowledged by public praise. It is interesting that when a normally responsible helper. such as a nurse, is not an agreed agent (e.g. is on leave), her effectiveness may be diminished. For example, an experienced nursing sister who regularly copes with medical emergencies at her hospital finds it almost impossible to provide satisfactory assistance at road accidents. She feels significantly less competent. is sometimes fearful and almost always upset by extra-mural emergencies. To take another example, a veteran bomb disposal expert experienced an atypical and strong fear reaction when he encountered a suspicious looking object while travelling in a train during a period of leave. Examples of this kind point out the important part played by the group and institutional supports (tools, colleagues, routines) that generally are provided for an agent who is carrying out an act of required helpfulness. How and why do these institutional supports influence behaviour? In the first place, the presence of other members of what is often a small working group can increase one’s motivation (for examples from air-force crews, see Rachman, 1978) and one’s sense of competence. The presence of familiar colleagues affects the person’s competence directly and indirectly-after all, one’s colleagues contribute to the skills which are available to deal with the problem at hand. The availability of the necessary equipment and the use of standard operating procedures enable the helper to use his skills satisfactorily. Thirdly, even if other members of the working group
4
S.
RACHMAV
are not present. some evident sign of the helper’s affiliation (e.g. a fireman’s uniform) enables observers to recognize his role and responsibility. and to behave towards him in an appropriate manner. This recognition of the helper’s role by the observers. and their accompanying behaviour and expectations. serve to increase the demands placed on the helper: the level of demand is likely to be weaker if the helper has to face the threat in isolation. The power of what might be called social role demands is well illustrated in an incident recalled by Harold Macmillan (1966. p. 89). When in the course of a battle “fear. not to say panic. seized during the First World War, he became isolated. me . when one is responsible for men under one’s command. proper behaviour. even acts of gallantry are part of the show but now it was all over: I was alone and nobody to see me. There was no need to keep up appearances, and I was frightened.” While on the subject of role demand and institutional support. it is worth considering why people carry out dangerous and uncomfortable tasks for the benefit of others. Among additional factors that could be included. the following are likely to be concerned: personal and public praise and recognition. the status and financial rewards provided for carrying out the tasks. high job-satisfaction. and acceptance within a small group of valued colleagues. A further indication of the importance of role demand can be seen in the observation that professional helpers. such as bomb disposal experts. report that it is psychologically more comfortable to participate in rendering a threat harmless than to remain a passive observer while one’s colleagues risk danger-but there are exceptions. as when the potential helper is not an agreed agent (see above). The cfects qfgroup morale. One of the clearest findings to emerge from studies carried out by military psychologists during the Second World War was the over-riding importance of group membership and group morale (see Rachman, 1978). In many situations. particularly those which were dangerous and demanding, the soldiers’ and airmen’s actions were motivated by the desire to avoid failing their comrades. The motivational strength of these group factors exceeded almost all others. and in combat conditions was snore powerful tharl the ,fear qf death. Observations on civilian workers engaged in difficult/dangerous tasks confirm the importance of group membership in motivating and controlling behaviour under difficult conditions. Irtceririres. There will be little argument about the claim that the competence which many people display when required to act as a helper. can be accounted for in part by the increment in motivation resulting from the social pressures which are acting on the person concerned. Given an adequate incentive, people perform more persistently and thereby increase the chances of successful accomplishment of the task. They will also tolerate more discomfort. Furthermore. the increase in motivation will help to activate skills that might not otherwise be called upon. In the nature of its situational limitations. it is to be expected that the motivational contribution to the performance of helpful tasks will be temporary. If there were no other factors at work. performance would return to its earlier level as soon as the motivational pressure was lifted. As has been argued in this paper however. there are long-term consequences of successfully performing the required acts of helpfulness. These more enduring changes are difficult to account for in terms of motivational boosts. Instead they suggest that some form of learning has taken place. As mentioned earlier. Rakos and Schroeder attributed part of the therapeutic change recorded in their experiment. to the acquisition of new coping skills. It is probable that in addition to the formally-provided training for helping professions, execution of the required tasks. followed by the appropriate feedback. will lead to the growth of new coping skills. Another type of learning which probably contrihutes to enduring improvements in competence can be traced to the habituation which often takes place during repeated exposures to frightening stimulation (see Rachman. 1978). Helpers who are obliged to undertake dangerous tasks repeatedly are thereby exposed to the stimuli in a way that contributes to the habituation of autonomic reactions which form part of the fear reaction. Three s~~stems. If we carry out a three-systems analysis of fear, it becomes evident
The concept
of required
helpfulness
5
how required helpfulness can contribute to the modification of each of the three major components (see Lang, 1970: Rachman. 1978). Repeated exposures to intensive stimulation will facilitate the habituation of the psychophysiological component of fear. formal training and repeated experiences will lead to improved coping behaviour. and successful performance accomplishments will in turn contribute to an improved sense of personal competence (the cognitive component). Insofar as the operation of required helpfulness. at least in respect of fear-provoking tasks. is a function of high (social) demand. it should show the same patterns of desynchronous changes that are postulated to occur under other circumstances of high demand. So for example, Hodgson and Rachman (1974) and Rachman and Hodgson (1974) have postulated that a high level of demand will produce discordance between the three components of fear. As applied to the concept of required helpfulness this hypothesis needs little addition. Fear-provoking or other dangerous tasks in which high (social) demands are made on the helper, whould produce discordance and desynchronous changes in the three components. However, the performance of skilled helpers who are capable of acting with great competence. will be less influenced by fluctuations in demand: hence their performances should show less desynchrony. So for example. a highly skilled bomb disposal expert will be less influenced by changes in level of demand, and his three systems will remain concordant while carrying out his dangerous duties. Because of the important role ascribed to social influence. it is to be expected that the required helpfulness phenomenon will be weak or absent under conditions of social isolation, regardless of whether such isolation is physical or psychological. A psychologically isolated person will be less prone to the required helpfulness effect. whereas people with a well-developed sense of social responsibility will be strongly influenced by such pressures. In general it is to be expected that people who are members of a team or other close social unit will be most often and most strongly affected by required helpfulness. The strength of the required helpfulness effect will be determined by these personal attributes, by the perceived seriousness of the danger or discomfort, by the magnitude of the social incentives involved. and by the magnitude of the social pressures which are acting at the pertinent time. Applying these notions to potential therapeutic applications of the concept, it is to be expected that patients with a high sense of social responsibility are those who are most likely to benefit from the employment of methods influenced by the concept of required helpfulness. Additionally. their behaviour is most likely to be changed when the social incentive and pressures are of high magnitude and where they perceive the danger or discomfort to the threatened person to be high. On the other hand it is well to remember that the greater the social pressures acting on the person i.e. the greater the demands. the greater the likelihood that desynchronous changes will take place. Also. purely motivational pressures may produce transient changes in behaviour. To recapitulate, in acts of required helpfulness the helper’s performance may exceed his normal achievement. and may in addition lead to enduring changes in the helper himself. To put it another way. acts of required helpfulness can produce short-term or long-term improvements in performance and longer term increases in competence. Acktto~/rdgrrlte,lr.\-The
asststance
of R. Hallam
and C. Phihps
is gratefull!
acknowledged
REFERENCES GARMEZY N. (1974) The stud> of tnvulnerable chtldren. Schr:ophre~tra Bull. 9. 1I& 120. HODGSON R. and RACHMAS S. (1974) Desynchron! m measures of fear. Eeltut. Ret. Thu. 12, 319-326. JANIS 1. (1951) .4ir War and Etuorronul Srrc\.\. New York. McGraw Hill. LANG P. (1970) Stimulus control. response control and desenstttzation. In Leurui,ty ,~pprouc/tc.\ 10 Tlterrrpe~rtc Behavior Change. (Ed. D. LEVISI Aldine Press. Chtcago. L~wts A. (19421 Incidence of neurosis m England under war conditions. Lcrrrcrr 2. 175-.1X3. MCDONALD P. (1977) Sropprng rhr Ciocli. Hale. London. MACMILLAN H. (1966) U’irttl\ of Clwtyr. Macmillan. London
6
S. RACHMAS
RACHMAN S. (19761 Courage. fearlessness and fear. NCM. Scrcwisr 28, 77 I-273. RACHMAN S. (197X) Fwr a/u/ Cowuq~,. W. H. Freeman. San Franctsco. RACHMAN S. and HODGSON R. (19741 Synchron) and desychrony in fear and avoidance. Brhur. Rr\. T/TN. 12. 31 l-31X. RAKOS R. and SCHROEIXR H. (1976) Fear reduction in help-givers as a function of helptnp. J. com~l. P.~&Io/. 23. 42%435. VERNON P. (1941) Psychological effects ol” ax raids. J. ah~~nr~u/ .AOC.Pzwl~ol. 36. 457376. WILSON H. (1942) Mental reactions to air raids. Lnr~wr 2. 28;1287.