If you were injured on a crowded street, would you expect the people around you to come to your aid? If you were being robbed in a public area, could you count on an honest citizen intervening on your behalf? As an easy answer, many of us are quick to rely on the protection of other people. Generally, we find that we feel safer amongst large groups of people, since most criminals prefer to conduct their activities unnoticed.
However, there is a social psychological phenomenon called the “Bystander Effect”, which theorizes that we are actually less likely to be helped when in large groups of people. According to the theory, the more people witness an emergency situation, the lower the chances are that any of those people will actually step in to provide assistance.
Kitty Genovese
Perhaps the most famous source for the Bystander Effect theory is the 1964 stabbing murder of Kitty Genovese. According to newspaper reports of the event, Kitty Genovese was stabbed to death by a serial rapist and murderer, while at least 38 witnesses were present. The murder apparently took place over ten minutes, with Ms. Genovese crying for help. Even though her cries were easily audible, no one came to her aid. At one point, the killer even left for a period of time, and then returned to finish off Ms. Genovese. Though this story was later discovered to be largely exaggerated by the newspaper article, it is often cited in many college textbooks as being a prime example of the bystander effect.
The Five-Step Process
According to most psychological studies, a bystander of an emergency situation will go through five separate phases, during each phase of which they will decide that there is nothing they can do.
- First, a bystander will notice the event, and take note of the events that are transpiring.
- Second, a bystander will realize that there is an emergency (but decide that there is nothing they can do).
- Third, a bystander will either assume responsibility, or assume that other bystanders will assume responsibility for the situation.
- Fourth, a bystander will either recognize that they have the knowledge to help the situation, or acknowledge that they do not know enough to be helpful.
- Fifth, a bystander will either act to help the situation, or simply remain an observer.
Modern Explanation
With recent studies, it has been suggested that the reason people may not act in an emergency situation is actually a bit more complex. It may be related to personal beliefs, or out of a desire for self-preservation. It may even be related to a racism issue about the persons or people who are involved in the emergency. Two of the most commonly cited reasons for a lack of action in laboratory studies were “fear of bad consequences” and a “loss of important personal relationships”.
Sources:
http://changingminds.org/explanations/theories/bystander_effect.htm
http://psychology.about.com/od/socialpsychology/a/bystandereffect.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect
