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Why We Do Nothing When a Stranger Needs Our Help
The Bystander Effect
In 1968, two psychologists investigating the average person’s reaction in an emergency carried out a couple of studies that were to become classics. The results of their research revealed the uncomfortable truth that most of us don’t behave like heroes when we think that other people will serve that role. Read on to find out more about what became known as “the bystander effect.”
The sad tale of Kitty Genovese
On March 13, 1964, a 28-year-old bartender called Kitty Genovese was attacked within yards of her apartment building in Queens, New York. During the struggle, she managed to break free from her assailant, but he caught her again, stabbed her several times, raped her, and killed her.
The murder of Kitty Genovese shocked the nation, in large part because of the reporting. Stories in The New York Times and other papers reported that as many as 38 people had overheard the attack but that none of them had bothered to intervene. Although the stories proved to be false, they nonetheless led many commentators to speculate about what might make someone want to help a person in distress. Or not. Were people — big city dwellers in particular — just uncaring and selfish?
