The Bystander Effect Evergreen Valley College

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Lester Thornton
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1 1 1 The Bystander Effect 2238 Evergreen Valley College Abstract

2 2 2 The aim of this experiment was to see if the bystander effect made a difference in its effectiveness based on distinctive locations such as poverty stricken areas and higher-class areas. The bystander effect or Genovese syndrome is a social psychological phenomenon that refers to cases where individuals do not offer any means of help in an emergency situation to the victim when other people are present. The probability of help has often appeared to be inversely related to the number of bystanders; in other words, the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help (Wikipedia, 2012). Each participant was brought to different locations and given a specific type of emergency. Results were gathered based on whether or not someone stopped to help, approximately how many surrounding people present, and whether the area was a lower income or higher-class population. I wanted to see if the general bystander effect made a difference as to whether help was received or not, based on the general diversity of the area.

3 3 3 Introduction One of the classic experiments in social psychology is the one conducted by John Darley and Bibb Latané in 1964 called Bystander Apathy Experiment. The experimenters got their inspiration and motivation to conduct this experiment from the highly publicized murder of Kitty Genovese in the same year. Thirty-eight neighbors of Kitty Genovese were aware about the murder that was taking place during that time and yet all of them chose to do nothing in rescue of the assaulted girl (Castillo, 2008). They conducted an experiment that had allowed them to see the reasons to the tragic event, through similar circumstances. The bystander effect not only affects literal aspects, but it takes place in the Internet world as well. In a study performed by Markey (2000), the experiment focused on the amount of time it took a bystander to provide assistance. The researchers examined the effects of the gender of an individual seeking help by measuring participant response time (dependent variable). The perceived gender was manipulated by the usage of a male or female screen name in an Internet chat room (independent variable). The treatment conditions examined the number of people present in the chat (two to nineteen), and then asked the stimulus question: Can anyone tell me how to look at someone s profile? (Chekroun & Brauer, 2002). It s amazing how people react to different serious events based on the number of people present. I decided to take this simple experiment and base it on diversity of areas, as my main focus of study. Method Participants

4 4 I gathered 5-10 people in 6 different parts of California totaling people both 4 male and female participants. Their ages ranged from 18 to 72. All participants were English speakers. Material Participants were given an emergency such as a hurt leg and unable to walk, fallen and cant get up, bleeding, feeling ill, skateboard accident, ect. Each emergency corresponded with the participant s age. Procedure Participants were divided up into 6 groups of 5-10 people. Each group was brought to a different part of California in which all participants have never lived before or visited often or at all. I used this strategy of organization due to the bias that would occur if someone saw one of the participants they knew. I wanted my experiment to be with complete strangers. Each person was then scattered into different parts of that particular area, such as neighborhood or city like. The person then performed their emergency in a public setting. Depending on how soon he or she received the help needed, participants were to act out for at least an hour. Results were then gathered on a sheet like so: Number of people City or Received help? Low income area present: Number of people neighborhood: City or Received help? High income area present: neighborhood: Each participant filled out the sheet after he or she had completed their emergency and they were all returned to me for review of my data. The goal was to see if the bystander

5 5 effect made a difference in its effectiveness in terms of location, based on poverty and 5 wealthy areas of California. REFRENCES

6 6 Castillo, J. J. (2008, June 15). Experiment-resources.com. Retrieved from 6 Chekroun, P., & Brauer, M. (2002, July 29). The bystander effect and social control behavior: the effect of the presence of others on people. Retrieved from Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from The Bystander Effect: Old Experiments Still Relative To Today s Social Influences. (n.d.). Crossroads Times keeping up with a world at crossroads. Retrieved October 4, 2012, from

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