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Exploring The Bystander Effect

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The Bystander Effect is a phenomenon studied in social psychology which explains that in a crisis, the more people present in the scenario will reduce the chances of anyone intervening.

From past cases, this phenomenon of inaction has caused severe consequences such as the infamous case of the Murder of Kitty Genovese. The Bystander Effect could, however, be mitigated through certain tactics such as the use of situational powers or gaining knowledge through training. The Science of Empathy.

Understanding the Bystander Effect. If you witnessed an emergency happening right before your eyes, you would certainly take some sort of action to help the person in trouble, right?

Understanding the Bystander Effect

While we might all like to believe that this is true, psychologists suggest that whether or not you intervene might depend upon the number of other witnesses present. What Is the Bystander Effect? The term bystander effect refers to the phenomenon in which the greater the number of people present, the less likely people are to help a person in distress. When an emergency situation occurs, observers are more likely to take action if there are few or no other witnesses. Being part of a large crowd makes it so no single person has to take responsibility for an action (or inaction). In a series of classic studies, researchers Bibb Latané and John Darley found that the amount of time it takes the participant to take action and seek help varies depending on how many other observers are in the room.

Example Article(2) The Bystander Effect: Reactions and Causes - PSYCHROD. Bystander Effect: Reactions and Causes The bystander effect is an element of social psychology that implies that when the number of bystanders is increased in an emergency situation, the less likely any of the bystanders will aid, or assist in the situation (Aronson, Wilson, & Akert, 2013).

The Bystander Effect: Reactions and Causes - PSYCHROD

The bystander effect is one of the most significant well established social psychology findings, which manifested in the late 1960’s (Levine & Crowther, 2013). The cause for social psychologist to begin to study how bystanders react during emergency situations, was due to Kitty Genovese being attacked and murdered in front of her Queens, New York apartment in 1964 (Aronson et al., 2013). Kitty’s unfortunate attack lasted nearly 45 minutes and was witnessed by nearly 38 residents who did not assist by calling police, or trying to stop her attacker (Aronson et al., 2013). China’s bystander problem: Another death after crowd ignores woman in peril.

China's 'Bystander Problem' and one Neglected Hero. China: Senior sues would-be Samaritan. At around 9:00 am on November 20, 2006 in the eastern city of Nanjing, a Ms.

China: Senior sues would-be Samaritan

Xu, now 65, was knocked down while trying to board a bus. Peng Yu, a 26-year-old man, as he got off at the station, saw Ms. Xu lying on the ground with her left collarbone fractured. This much is known; a lack of witness leaves what happened next embroiled in controversy. According to Peng, he helped elderly Ms. Kind Student Helps Old Lady Who 'Fell Down', Gets Extorted for RM61,000 - WORLD OF BUZZ. Get the latest viral stories daily!

Kind Student Helps Old Lady Who 'Fell Down', Gets Extorted for RM61,000 - WORLD OF BUZZ

Like us: Sometimes it isn’t easy being kind and helpful because there are many unscrupulous scammers out there who just want to take advantage of people’s kindness. Most of us would immediately rush to help a person who fell down in front of us, especially if it is an elderly person but these three teenage boys from Jiangxi, China almost got disgustingly extorted when they tried to be helpful. According to Sina, three high school students were walking along the road when suddenly, an old lady with a cane in her hand fell down right in front of them. Being good and kind boys, they rushed over to help her up but to their shock, the old lady accused them of tripping her and asked them to buy medicine for her. As if that was not enough, she got even more bold and started asking them to pay 50 yuan (RM30) as compensation.

Luckily, two passing college students saw the scene and decided to help the innocent boys. Watch the video here: Source: Youtube. A New Look at the Killing of Kitty Genovese: The Science of False Confessions. On March 13, 1964 a woman named Catherine “Kitty” Genovese was murdered outside of her apartment in Queens, New York.

A New Look at the Killing of Kitty Genovese: The Science of False Confessions

Over the course of a brutal attack lasting over 30 minutes, Genovese was stabbed at least 14 times. It was widely reported that despite Genovese’s screams for help, not a single one of the 38 bystanders at the apartment that night came to her aid. Bystander Intervention & Prevention. Becoming a Bystander in Prevention There will undoubtedly come a time when you are faced with a situation in which you can intervene and help stop a potentially dangerous situation - stopping someone from driving drunk, eliminating bullying behavior, or preventing a sexual assault from occurring.

Bystander Intervention & Prevention

Traditionally sexual assault prevention work has focused on encouraging (mainly) women to protect themselves - don't walk alone at night, don't drink too much, etc. While these efforts can be helpful, they do not effectively stop crimes from occurring, and they place the duty and responsibility solely on the victim. As a friend, partner, classmate, family member, etc. you are in a unique position to do something about abuses you see. Learn how to be an effective bystander and how to confront abuses when they occur. How to Overcome the Bystander Effect. Psychologists have long been interested in exactly why and when we help other people.

How to Overcome the Bystander Effect

There has also been a tremendous amount of interest in the reasons why we sometimes don't help others.