Final answer:
The inspiration for research on people's willingness to help strangers in distress primarily came from newspaper reports of an assault and murder of a woman, leading to studies on the bystander effect and diffusion of responsibility.
Step-by-step explanation:
The research on people's willingness to help strangers in distress was largely inspired by newspaper reports of an assault and murder of a woman. This incident highlighted what later came to be known as the bystander effect, wherein individuals do not offer any means of help to a victim when other people are present. The reason for this lack of intervention is often attributed to diffusion of responsibility, where the presence of others leads to a psychological reduction in the sense of personal responsibility to act.
Discussion and studies on prosocial behavior and altruism were also influenced by the discovery of an altruism gene and the finding of altruistic behavior in various animal species. Theories such as 'the selfish gene' propose genetic explanations for altruistic behaviors observed both in humans and animals. Furthermore, the role of empathy and debates whether altruism is motivated by personal benefit or is truly selfless are ongoing in the field of social psychology.