People rarely say thank you when others help them out, scientists say
The researchers studied 1,057 conversations recorded by fixed cameras and microphones in people’s homes or in places where the communities gathered. All the exchanges were casual and between people who knew each other well, such as friends and family. In more formal settings, such as buying food at the shops, the scientists believe expressions of thanks are likely to be far more commonplace.
Across all eight languages, including Cha’palaa in Ecuador, Siwu in Ghana, Lao in Laos, Polish, Russian, Murrinh-Patha in Australia, Italian and English, people were highly likely to help others when asked. On average, people responded immediately 88% of the time, suggesting they were happy to cooperate.
The scientists cast a wide net to capture any phrase that indicated thanks when someone did what was asked of them. In English, that meant terms like “sweet” and “good job” as well as “thank you”. In...