Social Science Bystander effect

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Quivorir said:
Bit of topic but similar. Here's the scenario. You're driving down a road in the middle of nowhere and see a bird flagging you down to help her with a car issue. Would you help?

My first thought would be "nope, there's a guy hiding somewhere who's gonna rob me or whatever as soon as I get out my car" so I'll just look straight ahead and pretend I didn't see her. Would any of you pull over?
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Nope. I know nothing what-so-ever about cars so I would be of little to no assistance. If I was a mechanic and seen someone needing a hand then yeah I probably would stop.
 
Thistle said:
Something that has intrigued me of late with the racial attacks on buses and the likes is why doesn't anybody do anything to stop it.

After a bit of research I came across a phenomenon known as the bystander effect. Basically it is that the probability of someone helping another decreases as the number of people present increases. The most famous example probably being the holocaust.

Anyone got stories from either side of the situation?
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The worst one for me was the recent one on the Gold Coast I think it was. A middle aged man was sexually assaulting a 14 or so year old girl on a packed bus. Everyone knew what was going on but no one lifted a finger.

Made my blood boil reading about it. To the people that didn't help that girl you should all be ashamed of yourselves.
 
Quivorir said:
Bit of topic but similar. Here's the scenario. You're driving down a road in the middle of nowhere and see a bird flagging you down to help her with a car issue. Would you help?

My first thought would be "nope, there's a guy hiding somewhere who's gonna rob me or whatever as soon as I get out my car" so I'll just look straight ahead and pretend I didn't see her. Would any of you pull over?
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How big are her boobs?
 

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People on trains are a disgrace. I have been harrassed by drunken clowns with my old man, and not a single person said a word. Have seen it happen numerous times on the train. Idiots just sit there hoping the problem won't affect them.

campaigners.
 
Herne Hill Hammer said:
The worst one for me was the recent one on the Gold Coast I think it was. A middle aged man was sexually assaulting a 14 or so year old girl on a packed bus. Everyone knew what was going on but no one lifted a finger.

Made my blood boil reading about it. To the people that didn't help that girl you should all be ashamed of yourselves.
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+1. Shocking case. You think you're an easy target walking around alone at night, but on a crowded bus in the middle of the day?!? :thumbsdown:
 
JuddsABlue said:
I could offer zero assistance, I know nothing of cars

I would stop, wind down window and ask what problem is etc to get an idea of the situation but have the car running in case anyone comes out of the shadows
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That's another prime example of the bystander effect. In some cases, you might not know how to help out of either incompetence and/or fear of looking like a twat in public. This doesn't apply to most scenarios, but for example, I can't swim and I have an intense fear of the ocean, so if I saw someone drowning at sea, there's virtually nothing I could do other than call for help myself because I would probably be too scared of drowning if I dived in for help... might be a different situation if it were in a pool. Or if someone needed CPR, I would have no clue what to do, and I'd probably only make things worse.

Another problem is trying to asses whether somebody needs help. If you see someone slouched over their seat on a train, are you going to approach that person to check if they're okay? You might not, they might be asleep and a violent junkie who'll stab you for talking to them.

But yeah, in public people generally pass the buck when it comes to helping someone.

 
Think people just dont want to be hurt, Someone beating a girl up in broad day light is obviously a very unstable individual. I think most people would jump in if they knew the person was unarmed but you cant be sure with some of the crazies going round.
 
Quivorir said:
Bit of topic but similar. Here's the scenario. You're driving down a road in the middle of nowhere and see a bird flagging you down to help her with a car issue. Would you help?

My first thought would be "nope, there's a guy hiding somewhere who's gonna rob me or whatever as soon as I get out my car" so I'll just look straight ahead and pretend I didn't see her. Would any of you pull over?
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Red Dead Redemption taught me that you sneak up on the horsecart, shoot the two men, hogtie the girl, and tie her to the train tracks :D


dales.girl38 said:
Most psychology students would have studied the Kitty Genovese case, where a woman was being attacked (and was eventually murdered) in a street surrounded by apartment buildings. Lots of people heard her screams for help but everybody assumed someone else would call the police, and nobody actually did. Awful stuff.

It's why in emergencies you shouldn't yell 'somebody call the police/ambulance', you should point at someone and say 'you, call the police'. It puts the onus on them.
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That story is a myth. The NY Times erroneously reported that 38 bystanders did nothing.

It's amazing how that story continues to be circulated despite it being purely apocryphal.
 

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Smiling Buddha said:
You can tell that a lot of people in this thread watch waaaaaaaaaaaay too much television.

Scared of every other person on the street. Like a child in a warzone.
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Agree. The case with the bikie beating his girlfriend to a pulp and then murdering the lawyer is an extreme scenario.

The reality is that a lot of people are just gutless, selfish pricks who only care about themselves.
 
Smiling Buddha said:
You can tell that a lot of people in this thread watch waaaaaaaaaaaay too much television.

Scared of every other person on the street. Like a child in a warzone.
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Agreed. Could count on one hand, the amount of times I have been scared just walking through somewhere lol. Of course, the Eastern suburbs of Melbourne aren't the South Bronx but still....
 
nbaman1 said:
Agree. The case with the bikie beating his girlfriend to a pulp and then murdering the lawyer is an extreme scenario.

The reality is that a lot of people are just gutless, selfish pricks who only care about themselves.
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The offender has already shown themselves to be unstable. Extreme cases might be rare but all it takes is one crazy.

I've never been presented with the scenario. I'd like to say I'd do the noble thing but I don't think you can really know unless you've been in the situation.

I have a wife and kids I provide and care for. Ultimately, they are my number one priority and will be a core component of my decision making process.

Depending on the situation and risk, I might assist, I might not - call me a "gutless, selfish prick" all you want.
 
Underdog said:
The offender has already shown themselves to be unstable. Extreme cases might be rare but all it takes is one crazy.

I've never been presented with the scenario. I'd like to say I'd do the noble thing but I don't think you can really know unless you've been in the situation.

I have a wife and kids I provide and care for. Ultimately, they are my number one priority and will be a core component of my decision making process.

Depending on the situation and risk, I might assist, I might not - call me a "gutless, selfish prick" all you want.
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Sure. But surely you would at least do something? The majority of people would just walk by.

I couldn't live with myself if I witnessed a murder and did nothing about it. But hey, maybe that's just me?
 
I've already recounted in another thread months ago that I've always stepped in to help and have suffered injuries doing so. Jumped in when a gang was beating up a mentally challenged boy and got bashed senseless. Stepped in when a local drug dealer and sicko was holding a girls dog hostage gonna throw it off the bridge if she didn't blow him. Ended up with a stab wound and cuts. Etc etc. A lot of people suck and are so selfish who don't deserve help but in cases of young people and elderly you gotta.

Many stories I've heard of people jumping in when a guy is beating up his girlfriend and they knock the attacker out or are pounding him only for the girlfriend to scream at the guy helping telling him to * off or even attacking him back. Some of these situations the girl is messed up emotionally in an abusive relationship where she wants or solicits that reaction from her man.
 
nbaman1 said:
I couldn't live with myself if I witnessed a murder and did nothing about it. But hey, maybe that's just me?
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It is called honour. It was once the mark of a man that he had it.
GG said:
Many stories I've heard of people jumping in when a guy is beating up his girlfriend and they knock the attacker out or are pounding him only for the girlfriend to scream at the guy helping telling him to **** off or even attacking him back. Some of these situations the girl is messed up emotionally in an abusive relationship where she wants or solicits that reaction from her man.
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This however is true. I personally wouldn't bother trying to stop a domestic altercation unless it seemed obvious - and I mean really obvious - that serious long-term damage was going to be done to person on the receiving end of the abuse. Sadly there are some women out there who expect to be assaulted as part of their relationship (or at least they behave like it). I know of guys who have stepped in and then been attacked by the woman. * that. These bitches are with these cretins for a reason. I say leave them be.

What would make society safer is if we taught young people (boys especially) at school to always be vigilant about assault and to be willing to team up with strangers to overcome attackers. I.e. if there are four guys at a busstop and they see one guy attacking another guy across the road, they all know that although they are strangers, they will work together to overcome the assailant in defense of their fellow man. Even if people merely knew that this attitude were out there, random assaults would markedly decrease.

But why doesn't our so-called 'education system' teach people to be vigilant and work together in this way? Well, think this through. What do you think would happen to a corrupt government if the people had been taught to work together to overcome adversaries? Who might be in a lot of trouble? The same people who control the school curriculum and regulate the tv.

Hence we have entire generations of 'men' scared to even look up at busstops. It is pathetic. And it is by design. Be scared of your fellow man, but don't worry, we will protect you. Now give us our tribute, I mean, tax.
 
nbaman1 said:
I couldn't live with myself if I witnessed a murder and did nothing about it. But hey, maybe that's just me?
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In the case of the Melbourne one referenced earlier, the murder probably wouldn't have happened if the guy hadn't stepped in.
 
Smiling Buddha said:
But why doesn't our so-called 'education system' teach people to be vigilant and work together in this way? Well, think this through. What do you think would happen to a corrupt government if the people had been taught to work together to overcome adversaries? Who might be in a lot of trouble? The same people who control the school curriculum and regulate the tv.

Hence we have entire generations of 'men' scared to even look up at busstops. It is pathetic. And it is by design. Be scared of your fellow man, but don't worry, we will protect you. Now give us our tribute, I mean, tax.
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You really have lost it.
 
Smiling Buddha said:
It is called honour. It was once the mark of a man that he had it.

This however is true. I personally wouldn't bother trying to stop a domestic altercation unless it seemed obvious - and I mean really obvious - that serious long-term damage was going to be done to person on the receiving end of the abuse. Sadly there are some women out there who expect to be assaulted as part of their relationship (or at least they behave like it). I know of guys who have stepped in and then been attacked by the woman. **** that. These bitches are with these cretins for a reason. I say leave them be.

What would make society safer is if we taught young people (boys especially) at school to always be vigilant about assault and to be willing to team up with strangers to overcome attackers. I.e. if there are four guys at a busstop and they see one guy attacking another guy across the road, they all know that although they are strangers, they will work together to overcome the assailant in defense of their fellow man. Even if people merely knew that this attitude were out there, random assaults would markedly decrease.

But why doesn't our so-called 'education system' teach people to be vigilant and work together in this way? Well, think this through. What do you think would happen to a corrupt government if the people had been taught to work together to overcome adversaries? Who might be in a lot of trouble? The same people who control the school curriculum and regulate the tv.

Hence we have entire generations of 'men' scared to even look up at busstops. It is pathetic. And it is by design. Be scared of your fellow man, but don't worry, we will protect you. Now give us our tribute, I mean, tax.
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You were doing so well until here. You just cant help it can you?
 
Quivorir said:
Bit of topic but similar. Here's the scenario. You're driving down a road in the middle of nowhere and see a bird flagging you down to help her with a car issue. Would you help?

My first thought would be "nope, there's a guy hiding somewhere who's gonna rob me or whatever as soon as I get out my car" so I'll just look straight ahead and pretend I didn't see her. Would any of you pull over?
Click to expand...

I'd assume her car broke down and she had problems with her mobile.

So yeah I'd stop to at least see if I can help by making a call.

I'd stop if it were a bloke as well.
 
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