Maintaining or Challenging Social Dominance Between Groups Though Helping

The paper presents a model which proposes that groups may establish or challenge dominance through helping. It begins by noting the centrality of inequality in helping and inter-group relations. The implications of this to affirmative action programs are noted. Following this, a model of inter-group helping relations is proposed. It suggests that when the high status group provides to the low status group dependency oriented help, it may do so in order to establish dominance. The willing receptivity of the low status group may indicate its acceptance of the inequality, and lack of receptivity for such help may be motivated by the desire to achieve social equality. Empirical findings that are relevant to this analysis are presented in studies using Israeli students as research participants. Research on the social psychology of helping behavior has focused on inter-personal helping and has paid less attention to the problem of inter-group helping (Schroeder, Penner, Dovidio & Piliavin, 1995). Yet many helping relations occur between groups (e.g., international aid, assistance given by an advantaged to a les