Delmi Rodriguez Period 2 April 6, 2011

The Bystander Effect

Many people think that if there is a situation and there are a lot of people someone will

help out, but that is not the case. The term Bystander Effect originated when scientists did research to find out why no one helped Kitty Genovese. Thirty-eight people saw and not one of them did anything to help her. In the article Why People Dont Help In a Crisis by John Darley and Bibb Latane it shows reasons why people dont help in situations. These reasons are people dont want to look foolish, they are thinking about something else and they are stressed.

People dont help out in situations because they dont want to look foolish. People who

see a situation happening dont want to make out a big deal out of it because they really dont know if it is an actual emergency or not therefore if they take action and it isnt an emergency they would look dumb. In a crowd, each individual fears looking like a fool as a result of behaving as if a situation is an emergency when, in fact, it is not(Darley and Latane). This clearly shows how people dont want to make a big deal out of a situation that is unclear. Therefore you can assume that people are afraid of looking stupid so they dont help out in a situation. In addition, it shows how people care about how they look instead of helping out. People dont help because they fear they will look like fools. People dont help because they are thinking about something else. If people see a situation happening they dont do anything about it their minds are somewhere else. People are too caught up with their own things they believe that their thoughts are more important to helping a person having trouble. He must tear himself away from his private thoughts and pay attention, (Darley and Latane). This shows how a person pays a lot of attention to their own thoughts. Sometimes a person is really thinking about thoughts that they dont pay attention to a

Delmi Rodriguez Period 2 April 6, 2011

situation. A person is less likely to do something about a situation if they are thinking about a situation because they basically ignore it. A person who only thinking about thoughts, dont do anything when there is a situation. People dont act when something is happening because they are stressed. People in a given situation want to help but they dont because they are stressed out or are scared. People are always thinking about themselves instead of helping others. Instead, we often find that a bystander to an emergency is an anguished individual in genuine doubt, wanting to do the right thing but compelled to make complex decisions under pressure of stress and fear, (Darley and Latane). This shows how people want to do the right thing but they dont because they are so stressed out about other things or they are scared. This also shows how people are always thinking about themselves instead of doing the right thing and helping someone in trouble. The bystanders reactions are shaped by their inaction. In a situation bystanders dont help because they are stressed and are afraid. In other words bystanders really dont do anything because there are so many things that happen during a given situation. These factors prevent the bystander from acting during a situation. These factors are fear of looking like a fool, their thoughts are somewhere else, and stress. These factors are the ones that many people are victims of and they cant act and a person may get hurt because someone didnt do anything to help them out.

Delmi Rodriguez Period 2 April 6, 2011

Bibliography

Darley John, Latane B. Why People Dont Help In a Crisis 1968.