Civility is a prosocial behavior regulated by tacit social norms. However, few studies have investigated the factors determining civility in urban contexts. The purpose of this paper was to test the influence of gender, pedestrian density, and social categorization on civility. Three field experiments simulated everyday social situations. Results showed an overall help frequency above 65%. Study 1 revealed that civility is influenced by the gender of the researcher and density of pedestrians. Studies 2 and 3 found no support for an endogroup favoritism hypothesis, as predicted by social identity theories. The theoretical and practical implications of theses findings for civility are discussed.
prosocial behavior; social categorization; environment density; gender
