Bystander Effect
So, you are confident and competent in Basic Life Saving practices. That is great! Now, picture this... You are walking downtown on a crowded street. You hear someone yell "help, help my girlfriend isn't breathing!"...."someone help!".... You know you have the skills to react, but you're frozen in place. What is going through your head?
Am I really the most qualified person amongst all these people here?
There are so many people here, someone else will surely help.
I am sure someone called 911, EMS will be here soon.
Unfortunately, this is a common reality. Where did all this self-doubt and lack of intervention come from? The topic today is the "Bystander Effect".
The principle of the bystander effect is that individuals are less likely to intervene in a situation where it is clear that someone requires immediate assistance when there are "bystanders" in the area who are also capable of assisting.
Summarized from the 1964 New York Times: The pursuit to understand this social phenomenon stems from an event where a young woman was stabbed to death in a residential area of New York City. What made this case popular was when the New York Times published that there was at minimum 38 witnesses that observed the attack, but not one of those 38 witnesses attempted to intervene. Reports state that the attacker took over 30 minutes to kill victim Kitty Genovese with zero intervention from those 38 witnesses, no one investigated, no one called 911. Although, there is some controversy on true number of witnesses during the event, it still remains shocking and eye opening to the nature of the "Bystander Effect"
Summarized by Darley, J. M., & Latane, B. (1968): One of the early notable controlled studies on the "Bystander Effect" was in 1968 presented by John Darley and Bibb Latané. In shortened form Darley and Latané's social experiment consisted of college students arriving to a individual laboratory room with a communication system that allows him to talk to other participants. The student was instructed to have casual discussions with the "participants" one of which was a pre-recorded voice over that would eventually be the "future victim". Through-out the discussion the "future victim" eventually released that they were prone to seizures. Once that information was disclosed causal discussion continued, and eventually the "victim" presented to show distress in their voice. They began stuttering, their speech incoherent, clearly exhibiting and voicing that they were having a seizure and needed immediate help. The study continued, varying the number of participants the student believes are also capable of helping the "victim," with results continuing to trend that reaction response time is slower and in some cases non existent the more participants the student believes are capable of helping.
In a group size of 2 (student + victim) out of 13 tests 85% of those responded with an average speed of 52 seconds.
In a group size of 3 (student + victim + 1 other) out of 26 tests 62% of those responded with an average speed of 93 seconds.
In a group size of 6 (student + victim + 4 others) out of 13 tests 31% of those responded with an average speed of 166 seconds.
So, how can you counter and not fall into the grips of the Bystander Effect? Training and confidence are always relevant and will continue to be relevant till the end of time. Also, simply being aware that the Bystander Effect exists. When the time comes to react to an emergency situation, understanding that the bystander effect could stop you from doing what you are trained to do could be what you need to consciously take that next step to save a life. Always check scene safety and prioritize yourself before helping others. If the first responder goes down who will help?
Cited References:
1964 | How Many Witnessed the Murder of Kitty Genovese?. (2016, April 6). Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/06/insider/1964-how-many-witnessed-the-murder-of-kitty-genovese.html
Darley, J. M., & Latane, B. (1968). Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 8(4, Pt.1), 377-383. doi:10.1037/h0025589
Fromell, H., Nosenzo, D., Owens, T., & Tufano, F. (2019). Are Victims Truly Worse Off in the Presence of Bystanders? Revisiting the Bystander Effect. Revue économique, 70(6), 927-944. doi:10.2307/26854734