Bystander Effect

steps to avoid being a bystander

"5 Steps for Overcoming the Crippling "Bystander Effect"" Stephen Palmer Writer Entrepreneur. 5 Aug. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2015. <http://stephendpalmer.com/bystander-effect/>.

bystander effect in the Treyvon Martin case

"Trayvon Martin and the Detriment of the Bystander Effect." Clutch Magazine RSS. Web. 24 Feb. 2015. <http://www.clutchmagonline.com/2013/07/trayvon-martin-and-the-detriment-of-the-bystander-effect/>.

UCB Article shows that all of us are bystanders

"We Are All Bystanders." We Are All Bystanders. 1 Sept. 2006. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. <http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/we_are_all_bystanders/>.

Conformity can also be simply defined as "yielding to group pressures" (Crutchfield, 1955). Group pressure may take different forms, for example bullying, persuasion, teasing, criticism etc. Conformity is also known as majority influence (or group pressure). The term conformity is often used to indicate an agreement to the majority position, brought about either by a desire to 'fit in' or be liked (normative) or because of a desire to be correct (informational), or simply to conform to a social role (identification).

"What Is Conformity? | Simply Psychology." What Is Conformity? | Simply Psychology. Web. 10 Feb. 2015. <http://www.simplypsychology.org/conformity.html>.

LA Times article in the experience of a bystander

31, January. "Fear and Shock May Play Role in Silence after Woman's Beating Death." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 31 Jan. 2014. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. <http://articles.latimes.com/2014/jan/31/local/la-me-0201-banks-pham-reax-20140201>.

Huffington Post article a person getting abused and no one helped her Ebony was attacked in broad daylight in a public park by a serial rapist 30 years her senior. Onlookers stood by, wary of "getting involved in a domestic issue,"

Aries, Emilie. "My Assult, My Story: Veteran Owns Her Voice to Expand Her Impact." Huffington Post. 14 Sept. 2014. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. <http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/bystander-effect/>.

NY Times article about an incident

Brooks, David. "Let's All Feel Superior." The New York Times. The New York Times, 14 Nov. 2011. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/15/opinion/brooks-lets-all-feel-superior.html?_r=0>.

There are two major factors that contribute to the bystander effect. First, the presence of other people creates a diffusion of responsibility. Because there are other observers, individuals do not feel as much pressure to take action, since the responsibility to take action is thought to be shared among all of those present. The second reason is the need to behave in correct and socially acceptable ways. When other observers fail to react, individuals often take this as a signal that a response is not needed or not appropriate. Other researchers have found that onlookers are less likely to intervene if the situation is ambiguous. In the case of Kitty Genovese, many of the 38 witnesses reported that they believed that they were witnessing a "lover's quarrel," and did not realize that the young woman was actually being murdered. Characteristics of the situation can play a role. During a crisis, things are often chaotic and the situation is not always crystal clear. Onlookers might wonder exactly what is happening. During such chaotic moments, people often look to others in the group to determine what is appropriate. When people look at the crowd and see that no one else is reacting, it sends a signal that perhaps no action is needed.

Cherry, Kendra. "What Is the Bystander Effect?" About Education. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. <http://psychology.about.com/od/socialpsychology/a/bystandereffect.htm>.

When other observers fail to react, individuals often take this as a signal that a response is not needed or not appropriate. Other researchers have found that onlookers are less likely to intervene if the situation is ambiguous

Cherry, Kendra. "What Is the Bystander Effect?" Web. 10 Feb. 2015. <http://psychology.about.com/od/socialpsychology/a/bystandereffect.htm>.

BBC more info about fight or flight

King, Brian. "Fight or Flight - Would You 'have a Go'?" BBC News. BBC, 29 June 2010. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/8761745.stm>.

"For more than half an hour 38 respectable, law-abiding citizens in Queens watched a killer stalk and stab a woman in three separate attacks in Kew Gardens. . . . Not one person telephoned the police during the assault; one witness called after the woman was dead."

Lemann, Nicholas. "A Call for Help - The New Yorker." The New Yorker. 10 Mar. 2014. Web. 30 Mar. 2015. <http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/03/10/a-call-for-help>.

The New Yorker

Lemann, Nicholas. "A Call for Help." The New Yorker. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. <http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/03/10/a-call-for-help>.

65% of "teachers" continued to administer the the highest level of 450 volts to the "learner." All the participants continued to 300 volts. Ordinary people are likely to follow orders given by an authority figure, even to the extent of killing an innocent human being.

McLeod, S. A. (2007). The Milgram Experiment. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/milgram.html

Time Magazine Article explains why people don't do anything

Szalavitz, Maia, and Maia Szalavitz. "Bystander Psychology: Why Some Witnesses to Crime Do Nothing | TIME.com." Time. Time, 11 Nov. 2011. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. <http://healthland.time.com/2011/11/11/bystander-psychology-why-some-witnesses-to-crime-do-nothing/>.

They found that when the participant was alone 85% responded, with one bystander 62%, and with two 31%. As the number of bystanders in the room increased so did the reaction time.

"3. Conformity and The Bystander Effect - Bystander Effect SocialPsych13." 3. Conformity and The Bystander Effect - Bystander Effect SocialPsych13. Web. 10 Feb. 2015. <https://sites.google.com/site/bystandereffectsocialpsych13/home/4-conformity-and-the-bystander-effect>.

The "cure" to this would be to teach people to help, even when they may think that someone already has. It is better to act in a helping manner than to not act at all.

"6. Conclusion - Bystander Effect SocialPsych13." 6. Conclusion - Bystander Effect SocialPsych13. Web. 10 Feb. 2015. <https://sites.google.com/site/bystandereffectsocialpsych13/home/conclusion>.

Shanda Sharer, a 12 year old, was abducted, tortured, and stabbed to death in the winter of 1992 by four teenage girls, one of which was her friend. The girls names are Laurie Tackett, Melinda Loveless, Hope Rippey, and Toni Lawrence. The four girls kidnapped Sharer from her home just after midnight under the pretense of taking her to visit a mutual friend, the reason behind the incident. Laurie Tackett was the leader of the group and she was known for her interest and interesting the other in the occult. Loveless was a lesbian who was in a relationship with Amanda Heavrin, the friend they were going to see. After taking her to an abandoned house and being frightened by passing headlights they took Sharer to the woods where Loveless beat her with her fists, Lawrence and Rippey claimed they wanted to leave. Loveless tried to cut the victim's throat with a dull knife and when it did not work they strangled her with the rope. When they thought Sharer was dead they threw her in the trunk and went to clean up at Tackett's house. When they heard screaming Tackett picked up and left with a kitchen knife coming back covered in blood and the screaming stopped. Loveless and Tackett went joy-ridding, after Tackett told the four girl's futures, leaving Lawrence and Rippey at the house. While out Sharer made noise in the trunk so Tackett beat her unconscious with a tire iron, they returned to the house to clean up again and then went to dispose of the body. Their method of disposal was to lay her out and pour gasoline on her body and set her of fire, while she was still alive.

"B. Recent Studies, Cases, and Media." Bystander Effect SocialPsych13. Web. 9 Feb. 2015. <https://sites.google.com/site/bystandereffectsocialpsych13/home/media-cases-and-studies-of-the-bystander-effect/recent-studies-cases-and-media>.

This can happen when those in the situation think that someone will help that person, it does not necessarily have to be them. It can also happen when they assume, after looking to others for what to do also know as Informative Social Influence and seeing them not help, that the person may be alright.

"Bystander Effect SocialPsych13." Bystander Effect SocialPsych13. Web. 10 Feb. 2015. <https://sites.google.com/site/bystandereffectsocialpsych13/home>.

Diffusion of responsibility: people feel less personally responsible for an event when in groups

"Bystander Effect and Diffusion of Responsibility | Heroic Imagination Project." Heroic Imagination Project RSS. Web. 10 Feb. 2015. <http://heroicimagination.org/public-resources/social-influence-forces/bystander-effect-and-diffusion/>.

social interactions place on us, and the cultural conditioning and norms taught to us through subtle reactions from others

"Bystander Intervention." PreventConnect Wiki -. Web. 10 Feb. 2015. <http://wiki.preventconnect.org/Bystander Intervention>.

You may have heard of the recent death of Ki Suck Han, who was pushed onto the subway tracks in New York City after an altercation with a homeless man. For the 20-some seconds it took the train to reach and kill him, the many onlookers offered no help, some scattering away. A photographer at the scene even snapped a morbid picture of the doomed man on the tracks, staring at the oncoming train. a construction worker named Wesley Autry jumped to save a man who fell onto the tracks during a seizure. Comparing the two events, Nocera concluded that the reason Autrey acted, while no one acted to help Mr. Han, was that Autrey was on the subway platform alone, while when Han fell the subway platform was full of people The presence of a crowd may sap our initiative in the on-the-spot circumstance of helping a stranger and steer us away from our better angels, but it may also embolden us toward sustained action for social justice, which will, down the line, improve the lives of many strangers even more than the occasional individual act of helping

"Bystanders and Heroes: The Dance of Defiance and Conformity." Psychology Today. Web. 10 Feb. 2015. <https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/insight-therapy/201212/bystanders-and-heroes-the-dance-defiance-and-conformity>.

how to initiate a non bystander effect

"From Bystanding, To Standing Up: Overcoming Inaction - LiveSafe." LiveSafe. 6 Dec. 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2015. <http://www.livesafemobile.com/bystanding-standing-overcoming-inaction/>.

how to jump into action during a bystander situation

"From Feeling to Doing: Overcoming the Bystander Effect." From Feeling to Doing: Overcoming the Bystander Effect. Web. 24 Feb. 2015. <https://www.ashoka.org/story/feeling-doing-overcoming-bystander-effect>.

Aeon Magazine psychology behind why people don't help

"How We Can Get Bystanders to Help Victims of Crime - Dwyer Gunn - Aeon." Aeon Magazine. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. <http://aeon.co/magazine/psychology/how-we-can-get-bystanders-to-help-victims-of-crime/>.

NY Mag says it isn't bystanders' fault

"Innocent Bystanders." NYMag.com. 9 Oct. 2011. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. <http://nymag.com/news/intelligencer/catherine-susan-genovese-2011-10/>.

intervening in a bystander situation

"Intervention: The Bystander Effect | Heroic Imagination Project." Heroic Imagination Project RSS. Web. 24 Feb. 2015. <http://heroicimagination.org/research/our-interventions/intervention-the-bystander-effect/>.

Genovese had driven home from her job working as a bar manager early in the morning of March 13, 1964. Arriving home at about 3:15 a.m., she parked in the Long Island Rail Road parking lot about 100 feet (30 m) from her apartment's door, located in an alleyway at the rear of the building. As she walked toward the building, she was approached by Winston Moseley.[2] Frightened, Genovese began to run across the parking lot and toward the front of her building located at 82-70 Austin Street, trying to make it up to the corner toward the major thoroughfare of Lefferts Boulevard. Moseley ran after her, quickly overtook her, and stabbed her twice in the back. Genovese screamed, "Oh my God, he stabbed me! Help me!" Several neighbors heard her cry but, on a cold night with the windows closed, only a few of them recognized the sound as a cry for help. When Robert Mozer, one of the neighbors, shouted at the attacker, "Let that girl alone!",[16] Moseley ran away and Genovese slowly made her way toward the rear entrance of her apartment building.[17] She was seriously injured, but now out of view of any witnesses.[16] Records of the earliest calls to police are unclear and were not given a high priority by the police. One witness said his father called police after the initial attack and reported that a woman was "beat up, but got up and was staggering around".[18] Other witnesses observed Moseley enter his car and drive away, only to return ten minutes later. In his car, he changed to a wide-brimmed hat to shadow his face. He systematically searched the parking lot, train station, and an apartment complex. Eventually, he found Genovese, who was lying, barely conscious, in a hallway at the back of the building where a locked doorway had prevented her from entering the building.[19] Out of view of the street and of those who may have heard or seen any sign of the original attack, Moseley proceeded to further attack Genovese, stabbing her several more times. Knife wounds in her hands suggested that she attempted to defend herself from him. While Genovese lay dying, Moseley raped her. He stole about $49 from her and left her in the hallway.[16] The attacks spanned approximately half an hour. Afterwards, "Genovese, still alive, lay in the arms of a neighbor named Sophia Farrar, who had courageously left her apartment to go to the crime scene, even though she had no way of knowing that [Moseley] had fled."[20] A few minutes after the final attack, a witness, Karl Ross, called the police. Police arrived within minutes of Ross' call. Genovese was taken away by ambulance at 4:15 a.m. and died en route to the hospital. She was buried in a family grave at Lakeview Cemetery in New Canaan, Connecticut.[21] Later investigation by police and prosecutors revealed that approximately a dozen (but almost certainly not the 38 cited in the Times article) individuals nearby had heard or observed portions of the attack, though none saw or was aware of the entire incident.[4] Only one witness, Joseph Fink, was aware she was stabbed in the first attack, and only Karl Ross was aware of it in the second attack. Many were entirely unaware that an assault or homicide was in progress; some thought what they saw or heard was a lovers' quarrel, a drunken brawl, or a group of friends leaving the bar when Moseley first approached Genovese.

"Murder of Kitty Genovese." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 1 Feb. 2015. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kitty_Genovese>.

more on how to overcome the bystander effect

"Overcoming the Bystander Effect for the Bigger Crowd." Examiner.com. 16 Apr. 2012. Web. 24 Feb. 2015. <http://www.examiner.com/article/overcoming-the-bystander-effect-for-the-bigger-crowd>.

bystander effect in a nursing home

"Overcoming the Bystander Effect." Overcoming the Bystander Effect. Web. 24 Feb. 2015. <http://www.reflectionsonnursingleadership.org/pages/vol35_3_col_laferney.aspx>.

talks about how we could possibly overcome the bystander effect

"Overcoming the Bystander Effect: Kidpower Response to Richmond High School Assault." Kidpower Teenpower Fullpower International. Web. 24 Feb. 2015. <http://www.kidpower.org/library/article/bystander-effect/>.

Bystander effect: Presence of others hinders an individual from intervening in a situation

"Psychology Today." Bystander Effect. Web. 10 Feb. 2015. <https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/bystander-effect>.

Conformity is the tendency to align your attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors with those around you. It's a powerful force that can take the form of overt social pressure or subtler unconscious influence. As much as we like to think of ourselves as individuals, the fact is that we're driven to fit in, and that usually means going with the flow.

"Psychology Today." Conformity. Web. 10 Mar. 2015. <https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/conformity>.

tips on how to get help

"Psychology of the Bystander and Tips for Increasing Chances of Receiving Help - Fight Times Magazine." Fight Times Magazine. 24 Jan. 2008. Web. 24 Feb. 2015. <https://magazine.fighttimes.com/psychology-of-the-bystander-and-tips-for-increasing-chances-of-receiving-help/>.

bystander effect on cyber bullying

"Resources." Sacramento Countywide Bullying Prevention Project -. Web. 24 Feb. 2015. <http://www.sactobullyprevention.org/resourceItem.cfm?topic=CYBER&type=BSTPRAC&id=139>.

Boston Magazine fight vs flight instinct and somewhere in the middle

"The Bystander Effect: Why People Film Fights But Don't Stop Them." Boston Magazine. 20 Mar. 2013. Web. 20 Feb. 2015. <http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2013/03/20/mbta-bystander-effect/>.