Research in psychology has cast doubt on the long–standing view that a person's moral character is the dominant factor in whether he or she does the right thing. In one amusing set of experiments, theology students were told to prepare a lecture on the parable of the good Samaritan. They were given a briefing about the lecture in one building before being told to walk to another, where they were to give the lecture. On leaving the first building, they passed a stranger who was groaning by the side of the path, apparently in need of assistance. Students who had been told they needed to hurry to give their lecture were six times less likely to offer help than those who were told they had plenty of time.