Bystander Effect

Introduction It is not uncommon for people to go over situations in their head beforehand in order to prepare. Some imagine being superheroes that help police officers catch an armed robber or sprinting into action to save a drowning child. But of course it rarely seems to go according to plan. It's hard to know exactly what a person, even yourself, would do when a situation arises. Instead scientists describe likelihoods of reactions and try to predict what the average person might do. Predictions of behavior are useful for designing things like houses, parks, schools, etc. so everything is structured where it should be in case of what might happen when a panic arises. The bystander effect is how a group of people will react when a social situation (usually emergency or panics) requires them to choose whether or not to help. Basically, it helps us understand who helps who and what circumstances. The main prediction is the more people present when a situation is …show more content…
Matthew (2009) filmed two scenarios involving a male and a female. In the first scenario the male is dressed in casual clothing and is playing a drunk. He appears to in crucial pain, slouched over on the floor begging for help. The man lay on the floor helpless for over 20 minutes. Not one single person stopped to ask him if he was okay or if he needed any help. In their mind, helping him would be an inconvenience to their daily routines or a risk at the least. Everyone walked passed him, bypassing his screams, as if he was a howl in the wind. The second time around they dressed the male as a respectable city gent. He lays on the ground in a business suit. It took 6 seconds for someone to stop and approach him. A woman asked if he was okay, even referred to him as sir. Once she stopped to help him others started to stop and help him as well. A few minutes after the police even decided to show