It's the middle of the day in Manhattan's bustling Washington Square Park.

At different points in the landmark thoroughfare, DailyMail.com placed two children - a six-year-old boy and girl - as well as a dog and a cat, as part of a social experiment.

All four were being monitored by carers and secretly filmed. So who do you think was the first to be 'rescued' by a stranger in the least amount of time alone?

The results of the test were both shocking and, to some degree, expected.

Interestingly, each person to stop and try and help was female.

Most surprising, however, was that six-year-old boy Sam did not catch the attention of one passer-by, even as he sat with his head in his hands for a long 45 minutes.

At one point Sam even started saying: 'Help me. Someone, help me.'

Conversely, our six-year-old girl subject, Carly, was tended to first, after just three minutes.

Rescue No. 1 : The girl

Social experiment: This is Carly, the six-year-old girl who pretended to be lost in the park

Record time: Carly was alone just three minutes before this woman asked if she were okay

The six-year-old girl that took part in the experiment, Carly, was approached by a female passer-by first after just over three minutes.

'I was watching the playground and I saw her standing by herself, and then I looked around to see who was with her and I didn't see anybody. So I went over and said 'are you ok?' and she said that she couldn't find her mom,' the woman said.

The woman asked Carly if she knew her phone number, and then got her phone out to call her mom, as the Daily Mail crew approached her and explained it was all a ruse.

'Maybe I had my mom radar on,' she added.

Rescue No.2: The dog

Lost: Charlie the pug was left wandering in the park with his leash attacked

Woman's best friend: Not long after Carly's 'rescue', this woman came to the aid of Charlie

Coming in second was Charlie the pug, who is a rescue dog from the Sato Project.

Charlie was left alone and wandering with his leash attached for 4 minutes and 36 seconds when a woman stopped to check if he had an owner.

'He just looked lost and scared,' the woman noted.

'If I were to see a child I would have done the same thing. I think that's just our job as human beings to do that.'

Rescue No.3: The cat

Abandoned?: Our cat subject, Mrs Parberry, was left sitting in the middle of the park sidewalk in a cat kennel, to stop her from running away

'I was very upset': This woman said she was shocked to see the cat in the carrier unattended

The rescuers: Interestingly, all three people to stop to help turned out to be women

Our cat subject, Mrs Parberry, was left sitting in the middle of the park sidewalk in a cat kennel, to stop her from running away.

This may have prevented some from stopping, with an animal drawing more attention than a bag, however it took twice as long for someone to stop for the kitty as compared to the dog.

A woman did stop after 10 minutes and 17 seconds.

'When I saw the animal carrier with an animal in it, I was very upset,' she said.

'It's hot.'

Meanwhile ...

Wandering: Six-year-old Sam was left alone in the park, however no one stopped to help

No attention paid: After a long 45 minutes of sitting on the ground, Sam was still not approached by any of the people who passed by

Sam, the six-year-old boy who took part in the experiment, was not approached once after 45 minutes.

While some might say little boys can appear threatening, Sam was sitting cross-legged on the curb looking confused. At one point he also began asking for assistance, but was ignored.

'I'm not surprised that people don't stop,' said Sam's mother, Michelle.

'This is New York. It's busy. Everyone is deep in their thoughts and phone conversations and it happens.

'I think it would be great to live in a place where everyone looks out for everyone else's children, but that's not what this city is all about.