Bystander Effect

The bystander effect refers to the idea that people are less likely to offer help when other people are around. According to the theory, the larger amount of people that are present, the less likely people are to offer help (Cherry). Kitty Genovese was murdered in front of over thirty people and not a single person stepped in or even called the police. The bystander effect is to blame for her murder. When there is an emergency situation, people are more likely to help if there are less people around. Because you are part of a crowd, no single person has to take responsibility. This is known as the bystander effect. In a study conducted by Bibb Latane and John Darley, it was found that the amount of time it takes to take action depends on the amount of people in the area. They set up three different conditions that a participant would have to fill out a questionnaire in. When the participant was alone, 75% reported the smoke. With two other people in the room, that number drops to just 38%. Finally, when two actors were in the room and noted the smoke, but ignored it, only 10% reported it (Cherry). With more people in the room, the percentage of the participant reporting the smoke dropped. They thought because the other people did not say anything that they shouldn’t either. Kitty Genovese was 28 years old and lived in an apartment complex in …show more content…
Because of the bystander effect, no one took initiative. Each person put the responsibility in the hands of the next person. Some people didn’t understand what was going on because they had just woke up, but others just expected someone else to do something. Some people's excuses were “I didn’t want to get involved” or “I was tired” (Maeder). Another neighbor said “It was none of my business” (Maeder). When there is an emergency, you should always get involved because you can not always rely on the next person to take