Bystander effect
The bystander effect (aka the Genovese Effect) is a theory which states that the likelihood that a person will help in a particular situation is directly related to the amount of people present in the situation. A person is far more likely to help should they be in a small number of witnesses.
The name 'Genovese effect' comes from the case of a lady called Kitty Genovese who was sexually assaulted and killed in front of a large apartment building. It occurred on March 13, 1964 at 3 am. Kitty Genovese reportedly screamed for her life when she was brutally attacked on her way home, but none of the reported 38 neighbors who heard her screams so much as phoned the police, as she was sliced to death in two attacks over an excruciating half-hour.
The facts of this story have since largely been shown to be inaccurate. Despite the facts of the story being wrong, the bystander effect itself has been shown to be a valid concept.
Bystanders are less likely to help if:-
Bystanders are more likely to help if:-
Fischer. The bystander-effect: A meta-analytic review on bystander intervention in dangerous and non-dangerous emergencies. Psychological Bulletin, Vol 137(4), Jul 2011, 517-537.
The name 'Genovese effect' comes from the case of a lady called Kitty Genovese who was sexually assaulted and killed in front of a large apartment building. It occurred on March 13, 1964 at 3 am. Kitty Genovese reportedly screamed for her life when she was brutally attacked on her way home, but none of the reported 38 neighbors who heard her screams so much as phoned the police, as she was sliced to death in two attacks over an excruciating half-hour.
The facts of this story have since largely been shown to be inaccurate. Despite the facts of the story being wrong, the bystander effect itself has been shown to be a valid concept.
Bystanders are less likely to help if:-
- There are many other people
- Perpetrators are present
- The costs of intervention were physical (rather than non-physical)
- When the situation is perceived as dangerous
Bystanders are more likely to help if:-
- They are male
- When the bystanders are not strangers
Fischer. The bystander-effect: A meta-analytic review on bystander intervention in dangerous and non-dangerous emergencies. Psychological Bulletin, Vol 137(4), Jul 2011, 517-537.
