The bystander effect Essay - 1223 Words

In the early morning hours of March 13, 1964, twenty-eight year old barmaid Catherine Kitty Genovese was murdered and raped on the street in Kew Gardens, New York. The incident did not initially receive much attention until Martin Gansbergs infamous article, Thirty-Eight Who Saw Murder, Didnt Call the Police, was published in the New York Times two weeks later. In reality, only twelve people witnessed the event yet each did nothing to significantly help Genovese until it was too late. The Genovese murder has become the definitive example of the bystander effect, the social phenomenon in which individuals are less likely to help someone in distress if there are other people present. The bystander effect occurs wherever there is†¦show more content†¦People have a tendency, known as social proof, to believe that others interpretation of the ambiguous situation is more accurate than their own. Hence, a lack of response by others leads them to conclude that the situation is not an emergency and that response is not warranted. Finally, empirical evidence has shown that the bystander effect is negated when the situation is clearly recognized as an emergency. In a 1976 study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, Lance Shotland and Margaret Straw illustrated that when people witnessed a fight between a man and a woman that they believed to be strangers to each other, they intervened 65 percent of the time. Thus, people often do not respond appropriately to an emergency situation because the situation is unclear to them and as a result, they have misinterpreted it as a non-emergency based on their own past experience or social cues taken from others. The bystander effect also arises from a diffusion of responsibility as each bystander can better rationalize his or her lack of action. In some cases, people assume that in a large group, there will be someone else that is more qualified to help and therefore, each person feels less obligated to act. For example, a doctor is far more qualified to provide medical assistance to a victim and likewise, a police officer or stronger-bodied man can better subdue a perpetrator. If the crowd of bystanders is large,Show MoreRelatedBystander Effect And Crises : Bystander Effects1625 Words   |  7 Pages Anthony R. Hudgens March 24, 2016 Case Study #4 Bystander Effect and Crises Bystander Effect and Crises A woman by the name of Kitty Genovese was stalked and stabbed to death in an alleyway of Queens, New York, in 1964 (Pugh Henry). It is reported that there were nearly 40 witnesses who heard her screams for help but failed to do so (Colangelo, 2014). Why is it that some individuals tend to shy away from bad situations in which help is clearly needed? Kitty’s murderer, Winston MoselyRead MoreBystander Apathy And Effect Of Bystander1084 Words   |  5 PagesBystander Apathy and Effect Bystander effect, or also known as bystander apathy, is a social psychological phenomenon that attributes to cases in which others do not help people in need while others are around. The possibility of help is contrarily connected to the amount of bystanders. Basically, the larger amount of bystanders the less likely people will help the one in need. Various variables help to explain why the bystander effect occurs. These variables include: ambiguity, cohesivenessRead MoreBystander Effect Essay1389 Words   |  6 PagesThe Bystander Effect The Bystander effect is a controversial theory given to social phenomenon where the more potential helpers there are, the less likely any individual is to help. A traditional explanation for this Bystander Effect is that responsibility diffuses across the multiple bystanders, diluting the responsibility of each. (Kyle et al.) The Bystander effect, also known as the Genovese Syndrome, was created after the infamous murder of â€Å"Kitty† Catherine Genovese in 1964, on the streets ofRead MoreBystander Effect Essay1637 Words   |  7 Pages Bystander or Bodyguard: An Examination of Who Helps and Who Does Not A bystander, according to Michael Webster’s New World College Dictionary, is an individual who is present in a given situation, but is not involved (Agnes, 2001). The word bystander does not always have a negative connotation, but in the case of bullying or an emergency situation, it does. In either scenario, a bystander is not helping in a time of crisis and this can have many negative outcomes. Many factors play a role in remainingRead MoreEssay on Bystander Effect1079 Words   |  5 PagesBystander effect, (Darley Latane, 1970) refers to decrease in helping response when there are bystanders around relative to no bystanders. Referring to previous study stating that there are some cases of which group size may promote helping instead of hindering it (Fischer et al., 2011). Researchers then speculate the possibility of positive influences from bystanders by taking public self-awareness into consideration. Researchers proposed that high public self-awareness would reverse t he bystanderRead MoreBystander Effect Essay1403 Words   |  6 PagesThe Bystander Effect is a controversial theory given to social phenomenon where the more potential bystanders there are, the less likely any individual is to help in emergency situations. A traditional explanation for the cause of the Bystander Effect is that responsibility diffuses across the multiple bystanders, diluting the responsibility of each. (Kyle et al.) The Bystander effect, also known as the Genovese Syndrome, was named after the infamous murder of â€Å"Kitty† Catherine Genovese in 1964,Read MoreThe Bystander Effect And Racism913 Words   |  4 Pagesthose they perceive to be similar to them, including others from their own racial or ethnic groups. We don’t like to discover that our propensity for altruism can depend on prejudice†¦Ã¢â‚¬  We can connect the evidence provided to explain issues of the bystander effect and racism. For example, when people witness a situation of racism , they are probably only going to help if it is someone from the same racial group. However, if it were someone foreign to his or her group, then that would ignore the issue andRead MoreThe Bystander Effect Essays1305 Words   |  6 PagesThe Bystander Effect Psy 110 - Asynchronous The Bystander Effect If you saw someone being attacked on the street, would you help? Many of us would quickly say yes we would help because to state the opposite would say that we are evil human beings. Much research has been done on why people choose to help and why others choose not to. The bystander effect states that the more bystanders present, the less likely it is for someone to help. SometimesRead MoreHistory Of The Bystander Effect1835 Words   |  8 PagesHistory of the Bystander Effect The bystander effect is a very famous theory. It has been indited about in many Psychology Textbooks. In addition, there has been many situations that have been associated with this theory. Nevertheless, there was one story that commenced it all. This acclaimed story went viral and what some would call, legendary. This story resulted in a woman denominated as Kitty Genovese being assailed and murdered by Winston Moseley. The reason this situation became so popularRead MoreThe Bystander Effect On Children1132 Words   |  5 PagesDimitri Alaiwat Mrs. Gumina English III 22 March 2015 The Bystander Effect Would one help some random person on the street in need? What if they were out in the frigid cold with no home or warm clothes? How about if the person was a woman getting physically harassed by her boyfriend? Most people would say â€Å"yes† to these questions, but would they actually help if any of these situations occurred in their lives? â€Å"The bystander effect is a social psychological phenomenon that refers to cases in which