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Theresa's Tidbits: Bystander effect still occurs
Theresa Seraphim
for Spotlight
The term bystander effect refers to the phenomenon in which the greater the number of people present, the less likely people are to help a person in distress... (http://psychology.about.com)
The bystander effect has struck again.
In two recent incidents, people nearby failed to help those who needed it.
An elderly man was mugged on a Toronto subway car, with nobody responding to his cries for help.
He lost his wallet.
A man in New York who saved a woman’s life was stabbed, and lay on the street for an hour before someone called emergency personnel.
He lost his life.
These events have brought to mind the case of Kitty Genovese, who was stabbed to death in front of a dozen witnesses in 1964.
Why did nobody intervene?
Social psychologists say it’s because the more people there are at a scene, the more likely it is that everyone will assume someone else has already called for help. The result, of course, is that nobody calls.
Here’s a question to consider: is it possible that the horror of what is happening has frozen people to the ground? Or is it that bystanders feel they will be trouble, or get hurt, if they provide help? Or could it be also the human tendency to gawk at such scenes (kind of life rubbernecking, if you will).
It’s easy to say, “Oh, such incidents are big-city events.” But they can happen anywhere – yes, even in our neck of the woods – and the above questions they raise about who we are and what we do as humans, are disturbing. That’s why we have to look at them.
Most provinces in Canada have some sort of Good Samaritan legislation which ensures that someone helping a person in distress won’t be liable for damages resulting from that assistance. (In Quebec, such assistance is mandatory.)
“Its purpose is to keep people from being so reluctant to help a stranger in need for fear of legal repercussions if they made some mistake in treatment,” says the Canadian Law web site.
Let’s ask ourselves, “If that were me in trouble, would I want help?” With that Golden Rule in mind, and the legislation to back us up, let us not turn from someone in need, but at least get help for them.
It’s the kindest, most generous, and most human thing to do.
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