Psychological Reports, 1997,80,363-368. O Psychological Reports 1997 DIFFERENCES IN LOST LETTER AND POSTAL CARD RETURNS FROM CITIES AND SMALLER URBAN COMMUNITIES '

Surnmay.-Two field studies comprised of two experiments each used "570 lost letters and 720 lost postal cards " to test the hypothesis that returns would be greater from smaller urban communities (population M=63,997) than from cities (population M=93,242) unless the addressee was affiliated with a socially or politically deviant group. The effect of deviance altered return rates but only in Study B's letter experi-ment. In Studv A, the effects of location and oolidcal deviance on letter returns from cities were greater than those from smaller urban communities even when the person in need of help was aKiated with the highly deviant "Socialists. Militia, or Aryan-Front " conditions. Returned postal cards from cities were Fewer thdn from smaller ur-ban communities. Cost did not influence returns. In Studv B. ~eturned letters and,, postal cards from cities were Fewer chon from smaller urban comrnun~hes even when the person was affiliated wich the "Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual or Cross-dressing " address-ee affihadons. Mdgrarn, Mann, and Harter (1965) developed the lost letter technique to measure helping behavior, using as a dependent variable subjects ' w h g