The year is 1964. Kitty Genovese a resident of New York City, is stabbed right outside of her building. The bystanders just stood there. Neither did they help the victim nor did they call the police. This incident soon turned out to be known as the infamous murder of Kitty Genovese and is used as a prime example by world-renowned psychologists to explain the Bystander Effect.
Now let’s head back to 21st century. To start off with, let’s imagine a hypothetical situation. As mentioned above, a certain grave incident is occurring right before your eyes. Not only you but a number of bystanders are there along with you witnessing the event. Seeing the dire situation that the victim is in, you or somebody would certainly rush in to help him/her. Right? As much as we would like to believe this, it ain’t true. That’s just not how the world works. Psychologists actually believe that whether or not we intervene depends on the number of other witnesses present. They have even named this phenomenon as the Bystander Effect.
The bystander effect, or bystander apathy, is a social psychological phenomenon in which individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim when other people are present. More the number of bystanders, lesser is the possibility that any one of them will help. During a crisis or an emergency, bystanders are more likely to take action if there are few or no other witnesses. If you are part of a large crowd, it’s likely that you’ll feel as if no single one person has the responsibility for an action (or inaction).Researchers Bibb Latane and John Darley, have conducted a series of classical studies, through which they have found out that the amount of time it takes a witness to take action or seek help varies depending on the number of people present in the room.
So what could be the explanation for this so-called bystander effect? Research has led us to the conclusion that there are two major factors that contribute to the bystander effect.
First is a phenomenon known as the diffusion of responsibility. Just because there are other observers, an individual does not feel the need or pressure to take action, as the responsibility is to be shared equally among all those who are present. But what we often forget in such situations is the fact that each individual has their own role to play. If we wait for someone else to take the action, we will fail. Rather than sharing the responsibility or cowering in the face of such tremendous pressure, we should rise up to the challenge and help those who are in need.
We all feel the need to behave in a socially acceptable and correct way. This is another major factor that contributes to the bystander effect. When the other witnesses fail to take action or fail to react, we as an individual feel that no response is needed or no response is appropriate in such situations. And if the situation turns out to be ambiguous, then the number of people intervening drops drastically. For example, in the case of Kitty Genovese, the majority of the witnesses present claimed that they believed the incident to be a lovers quarrel and that they didn’t realize that Kitty was getting stabbed. During a crisis, things are often chaotic and sometimes we just can’t understand what’s going on. In such situations, people often look to others in the group so as to plot the best course of action. When we see that no one else is reacting, we get the feeling that maybe an outside intervention is not required.
So how do we overcome this bystander effect? How can we avoid falling into this trap of inaction? Several researchers say that simply being aware of the bystander effect is enough to overcome the cycle. During the time of such crisis, if we are aware of how the bystander effect is holding us back, then we’ll surely be able to overcome the barrier that our mind has set up and we’ll be able to help the one in need.
Remember one thing. Life is precious. It’s not something which can be bought at a grocery store. You only get one. So make sure you live it to the fullest. Have no regrets and make sure that wherever you go, you spread happiness. Never turn a blind eye to someone in need. Who knows, the next time you meet it might be you who’s in need of help. And moreover, understand the value of life. Do that and you’ll surely be able to live your life in absolute peace and harmony.
