Introducing The Bystander Effect

At 1:00 a.m. outside a tavern several men are arguing. Two of the men are shouting loudly at a third man who appears to be backing away from them. The two men move toward the lone man and start waving their arms as he backs up against a wall. A group of people exiting the bar notice the situation.

In my opinion amongst the group of people exiting the bar that notice the situation, from a rating of 1-5 with 1 being very likely and 5 being very unlikely I would rate the chance of an onlooker intervening a 4. The Bystander Effect states that when a person is amongst a group of people, their less likely to not act in the face of an emergency if no one else acts.

5 Factors that would influence an onlooker to help.

• If the situation involves them or someone they care for.
• If there seems to be no sign of danger if they intervene.
• There personality, wether they're someone who willingly helps others or not.
• If they think they can make the situation better.
• The duration of the situation, sometimes if a situation is prolonged and an onlooker is there from the beginning they get tired of just watching and intervene with hopes of finally putting an end to the situation.

5 Factors that would influence an onlooker to NOT help.

• If the situation seems dangerous. A lot of people tend not to help because they believe that their safety would be endangered.
• The thought that someone else will intervene so they don't have to.
• If they are amongst a group of people and the group chooses not to acknowledge the situation.
• Fear of being publicly embarrassed while trying to help someone else.
• Not knowing what to do in order to produce a positive result in the situation.

Final Reflection
 The Bystander Effect, also known as the "Genovese Syndrome" is a psychological phenomenon in which individuals do not offer help in an emergency situation when others are present.