Bystander Effect in Social Psychology
Autor: Mikki • October 12, 2017 • 1,089 Words (5 Pages) • 898 Views
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This data suggests that the Bystander effect simply cannot be primarily characterized by diffusion of responsibility. If it was the case, then when one person helps, there would be no need for another one to take responsibility and so, all other persons present should walk away, which is not the case. Instead, the explanation is one of uncertainty. When no one helps, others wonder if that is the right thing to do or whether they have the adequate skills to help the person.
Also, before questioning humanity, consider the case of a short video on YouTube, which is part of a campaign run by a children's charity company in Finland. In it, 11-year Johannes Flaaten is an actor and his story is that he had his coat stolen and is waiting for his teacher to take him home. One by one, on a freezing winter day in Oslo, bystanders were keen to help, generously offering Johannes everything from scarves to their coats. In fact, only three of 25 people chose not to do anything. The social experiment was filmed over two days by a hidden camera. In just a few weeks, the video has accumulated more than 13 million views on YouTube. The charity, SOS children's Village has already raised enough money to send 25 000 jackets to help children in Syria. This clearly challenges the whole principle of the Bystander effect.
References
Darley, J. M. & Latané, B. (1968). Bystander intervention in emergencies: diffusion of responsibility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 8, 370-384.
Gansberg, M. (1964, March 27). Thirty-eight who saw murder didn’t call the police. New York Times, p. A1.
Latané, B. & Darley, J. (1968). Group inhibition of bystander intervention in emergencies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 10 215-221
Manning, R., Levine, M., & Collins, A. (2007). The Kitty Genovese murder and the social psychology of helping: The parable of the 38 witnesses. Advanced online publication. DOI: 10.1037/0003-066X.62.6.555
Peter Fischer, Joachim I. Krueger, Tobias Greitemeyer, Claudia Vogrincic (2011). The Bystander-Effect: A Meta-Analytic Review on Bystander Intervention in Dangerous and Non-Dangerous Emergencies, American Psychological Association, Psychological Bulletin, Vol. 137, No. 4, 516–538. DOI: 10.1037/a0023304
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