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Claire Mallinson
Understanding Interpersonal Behaviour
How far does the ‘bystander effect’ help us to understand why people help each other?
To find out how far the ‘bystander effect’ helps us to understand why people help each other, I need to study what the bystander effect is and look at some models based upon it. I will then look at case studies of the bystander effect and see how far they help us to understand why people help each other. I will then look at the limitations to the bystander effect and look briefly at other explanations as to why people help each other, such as the biological approach, the social learning theory and empathy and altruism.
The bystander effect, or bystander apathy is, “ a phenomenon that people do not help another when other people are present. ...
There has been a lot of research into helping behaviour by social psychologists. A great deal has been learnt about why sometimes we turn our backs on people needing help; and why also sometimes we go out of our way to help people in need. ... This is a clear example of the bystander effect. ... When the police interviewed the local residents the next day, thirty-eight people admitted to hearing the screams but yet no one intervened.
Possible reasons as to why no one came to her rescue are: -
“ They’re unwilling to risk themselves physically --- they might get hurt too --- have to spend more time and energy than they would want to --- they may not feel competent to help --- they maybe afraid that they have misinterpreted the situation which would make them vulnerable to ridicule, contempt, or rejection, they maybe unprepared, --- they don’t know what to do to be effective. ... As he attempted to rape her, she screamed for help. A great many people heard her cries and even watched the struggle from their windows, but for many crucial minutes no one offered help. ... p260
It is hard to understand why some people attempt amazing acts of bravery to help people, and why sometimes people fail to give help when it is needed. These examples make it clear to see that humans are capable of helping or ignoring people in distress. I will now look at the bystander effect itself to try to determine how far it helps us to understand why people help each other.
Many theories have been developed to help us to understand why people help each other. I am going to look at two models, which have been based upon the bystander effect.
It is proposed that a lone bystander is more likely to help than if accompanied by several bystanders. Latané and Darley’s cognitive model of bystander intervention proposes that whether a person decides to help some one depends on the outcome of a series of decisions. At any point along this path a decision could be made that would terminate helping behaviour.
Steps in Latané and Darleys model
The steps in the model are: - Does the bystander notice an event in which their help is required.
Approximate Word count = 2533
Approximate Pages = 10.1
(250 words per page double spaced)
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