Begging for Gas: Would You Help Out?
Would you help a stranger in need of some unleaded gas?
Feb. 23, 2009— -- Last year, when gas prices hit their peak, it could easily cost $50, $60, maybe even $80 to top off your tank. Everybody was feeling the same pain at the pump.
Now, gas prices have flattened out somewhat, but a sagging economy and growing job insecurity means you still need to stretch every gallon as far as it will go.
So, would you help a complete stranger who's running on empty? "What Would You Do?" wanted to find out.
In June we positioned hidden cameras in a Yorktown Heights, N.Y. gas station. Next, we hired actors to approach people as they filled up their cars to see if they'd give them a few extra gallons. Our actors made it clear they didn't want any money, claiming they needed just five gallons to get home. Would the kindness in peoples' hearts be able to overcome the emptiness of their wallets?
We started with a male actor, Dan, who did his best needy-neighbor impersonation. Wendy Westberger felt for him, but wouldn't give him any gas. Instead, she offered him a few bucks to buy his own.
"I hope that if either my daughter or I got stuck in a jam like that, I'd hope somebody else would help too," she said.
Dom Mascioli couldn't spare a drop of gas for our beggar.
"You know, you can't trust everybody. If there was like $2 a gallon or $1 a gallon, you know, I would say yes, but not at $5.20 -- $4.29 a gallon."
Time and time again, we found it hard for people to spare any gas; the price was just too high. Our male actor had a success rate of about 30 percent. We wondered if female beggars would have better luck.
Our "damsel in distress," Laurie Strickland, stuck to the same script as Dan, but the results were staggeringly different.
"The data suggests that attractive people, especially attractive women, are very likely to receive help and receive it fast," said Carrie Keating, a psychology professor at Colgate University .
Peter Wilcox sprung to the aid of our female beggar. Wilcox not only filled her gas can, he took it over to her car in the pouring rain.
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