Cold and calculating interpersonal relations among residents of large cities are described in North American studies. Little is known, however, about this topic in Brazil. The use of the telephone as a research instrument in social experiments also is not common in Brazilian's culture. An attempt was made to verify helping behavior as a function of type of home (house vs. apartment), local (center vs. periphery) and gender of the person seeking help. Using the 'wrong number technique', help was solicited by phone from 320 residents in two urban areas. Overall, 39,3% of the persons contacted provided help. Type of home and local did not influence the rate of helping. However, female callers elicited more helping behavior than did male callers. The use the telephone as an instrument in social research proved possible. Several methodological aspects needing special attention in experimental use were also discussed.
pro-social behavior; help; telephone; urban area
