The Bystander Effect

Crises often occur in secret, usually to conceal a bad deed- for instance, break-ins often happen when a house is unoccupied and it is dark out. However, sometimes the opposite is true- a situation causing someone to need help or rescue from others may occur out in the open, right in front of a group of observers. Unfortunately, there is a common finding that people are less likely to offer their help when they are in a group compared to when they are alone. This finding has been coined the bystander effect.

Take, for example, the widely-publicized tragedy of the murder of the young woman Kitty Genovese outside of her apartment in Queens in 1964. When the woman was attacked, she screamed desperate pleas for help, and her cries captured the attention of 38 neighbors. However, after 35 minutes, no help had arrived, and Kitty was dead. How can this happen?

There are many steps between a person looking at a problematic situation and that person actually administering help as a result. If any one of these steps goes wrong, the bystander effect will occur. First, people must notice that an event is occurring; often, in crowded places, it is possible to miss what is going on around you. Second, the observer must interpret the event as an emergency. If you happen to walk by a child sitting on the ground, for instance, how are you to know for certain if the child has fallen or is just resting? Next, the observer must take on the personal responsibility for providing help. This is most likely where the mere presence of other individuals may cause the bystander effect, by way of a finding known as pluralistic ignorance, which basically states that everyone else expects somebody else to take on the responsibility, and in reality nobody does. Finally, the observer must decide how to provide help, and then go through with it. Therefore, the presence of others may cause the bystander effect by inhibiting any of these crucial steps to providing help.

Certain aspects about a situation have been shown to increase (or decrease) the chances that someone will provide help. For instance, a study by Abraham Ross tested the frequency with which help was offered when male undergraduates encountered an adult needing help while they were alone, an adult needing help while they were with others, and children needing help. Consistent with the bystander effect, more males provided help for the adults when they were alone, rather than with others. However, they also provided more help for children than adults. This finding, along with many other similar studies, suggests that other characteristics about the helper, recipient, or situation may also come into play. For example, other studies have shown that attractiveness influences how much help is given.

Interestingly, a recent CNN article is aimed at disproving many of the “facts” of the Kitty Genovese murder, which is well known as a primary establisher of the bystander effect. For instance, records indicate that there were two attacks on the woman rather than three, and that the second was hidden from view. In addition, the article suggests that only about a half dozen (rather than 38) witnesses were found, and that calls had in fact been made to the police (but were ignored). The authors of this article seem to imply that by pointing out these discrepancies, it will bring more awareness to positive ways in which groups may intervene. However, the article concludes with a bitter remark that it will be nearly impossible to change the commonly held views about the famous murder. Interestingly, while reading this article, I wondered if it was a more removed, dilute form of the bystander effect- or, at the very least, diffusion of responsibility. Pointing out these discrepancies admittedly will not produce a huge change, so why spend such effort to do it? The data provided all seem, to me at least, a self-serving bias. The authors implicate false reporters and the police (pluralistic ignorance, perhaps?) and in general, do not do anything helpful themselves (which is the basis of the bystander effect, is it not?)

Effect of increased responsibility on bystander intervention: The presence of children. Ross, Abraham S. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Vol 19(3), Sep 1971, 306-310.

“New article casts doubt on ‘bystander effect.’” CNN.com 3 Dec 2008.

Baumeister, R. F., & Bushman, B. J. (2008). Social psychology and human nature. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.