The bystander effect
The first time I’ve heard about this termin was when I was reading a story in the English Studen’s book 2 ears ago.
The story was about a Kathy on a bus, who noticed a person liying on the floor, apparently asleep. Passengers were standing around him, occasionally glancing down. When the backdoor opened at the next stop, some people saw him and did not get on, other just stepped over the man and took a seat. Finally, a couple got on. They were shocked and started asking what had happened. Had anybody told the bus driver? No one knew. They got the bus driver to stop and an ambulance was called.
Some days later in the news this story was mentioned and, apparently, the man had passed out because of his diabetes, but, thanks to the couple, he had made a complete recovery.
The news did not mention how many other people, including Kathy, had let the man down. Why had the crowd stood by and not helped? Kathy has since learnt people were in the grip of what’s known as a “bystander effect”.
Who invented “bystander effect” termin?
Social psychologists Bibb Latané and John Darley popularized the concept of the bystander effect following the infamous murder of Kitty Genovese in New York City in 1964. The 28-year-old woman was stabbed to death outside her apartment; at the time, it was reported that dozens of neighbors failed to step in to assist or call the police.
Latané and Darley attributed the bystander effect to two factors: diffusion of responsibility and social influence.
The perceived diffusion of responsibility means that the more onlookers there are, the less personal responsibility individuals will feel to take action. Social influence means that individuals monitor the behavior of those around them to determine how to act.
Psycologists have identified several causes for this phenomenon
- We may not realise it’s an emergency, and if others show little reaction it confirms to us there is no need to help;
- Crowds reduce our feelings of personal responsibility. The more people there are watching, the more likely we are to think someone else will help;
- We may be scared that our help will lead to greater problems.
Can the bystander effect ever be positive?
The same factors that lead to the bystander effect can be used to increase helping behaviors. Individuals are more likely to behave well when they feel themselves being watched by “the crowd,” and when their actions align with their social identities. For example, someone who identifies as pro-environment will take more effort to recycle when they believe they are being observed.
Undersanding this now, if I have any doubt in similar situations, I always help. In the end, the worst thing that happens is that there really is no problem and I feel slightly embarrassed — but that is a much better feeling than the guilt of having done nothing.
P.S. All pictures were generated with the AI help.
Prompts I used to generate images:
1. Inside a moving train, passengers immersed in conversation and scenery rushing by, capturing the essence of train travel ,Shot by Nikon D850 with a 85mm f/1.8 lens, with an aperture of f/5.6 and ISO of 400, Intricate details, Realistic, Photojournalistic style photo, Hyper realism, clean sharp focus, photo realistic, — ar 3:2;
2. A crowd of people aimlessly moving along a busy city street, depicting the concept of going with the flow. Using the Sony a7S III camera with the Sony FE 50mm f/ 1. 4 ZA lens, moody with light green tones, cinematic shot, matrix style.
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