The Bystander Effect: Upstander Verses Bystander
Running into the fire instead of away from it
The bystander effect is when several people are present at the time of an emergency, but no one steps in to help the person in need. It is believed that the more people who are present during an emergency, the less likely people are to be proactive and help the victim.
The bystander effect was named by social psychologists, John Darley and Bibb Latane. They began researching the different reactions that people have while witnessing a crime. The first known case of bystanders syndrome inspired them to begin their research on why people in a group can be passive in an emergency.
In 1964, a woman named Kitty Genovese was attacked in Queens, New York. She was raped and murdered while dozens of her neighbors listened and watched the attack take place. The reaction from the media was indignant. People couldn’t understand how this could happen and why so many people would “turn a blind eye” to the vicious attack on Kitty. Darley and Latane were motivated to research this case and come up with reasons why the neighbors didn’t help Kitty. During their research, they coined the term “The Bystander Effect”.¹
In reality, many of us have done this but to a lesser extent. Have you ever driven by a bad car accident and didn’t stop? Many of us have and it…
