The bystander effect is the likelihood of an individual to fail to offer help to a person in need when there a lot of people in nearby or watching (Fischer et al., 2011). Regardless of the implications that helping an individual in need is likely to have, upon discerning that it is morally right to help an individual in a dilemma, it is commendable to act in an altruistic manner to help alleviate the condition that might escalate and be more harmful if not intervened. While on vacation and walking down a busy street in New York City and seeing a person lying down shaking and two others in a heated argument that is likely to turn out into a fight, the best undertaking would be to help the individuals in both situations.
Upon seeing a man lying down and shivering on the streets, personally, the first move would be observing him from a distance to establish whether it is safe to approach him. The next step would be to find out what their problem is and how they could be helped. The second situation is one that needs an intervention before either party takes an unacceptable move that is likely to injure the other. I would act in either or both situations because of a few reasons. First of all, regardless of whether other individuals who witness the two scenarios act or not, I believe that it is a personal responsibility to be empathetic to individuals (Batson et al., 2016). Other than acting in an altruistic manner, I believe that by being the first to help, others will join.
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In the case that others are helping, I will stop and help for a few reasons. First of all, probably, a personal input will assist in resolving the issue at hand faster. Besides, I am unlikely to question the need of the individuals in question because it has been established by the other individuals in question.
Bystander’s effect can be contributed by factors such as diffusion of responsibility as well as the need to behave in a way that is acceptable to the viewers. Diffusion of responsibility compels one to think that any other bystander will help the individual in need. On the other hand, an individual might think that any move to help the person in question might be viewed as unacceptable by the others. Besides the above, pluralistic ignorance can also contribute to individuals incorrectly interpreting a situation or occurrence and hence, not helping the person in need (Rendsvig, 2014). Also, Social pressure might impede someone from acting as they might fear the crowd for different personal reasons.
The woman in question in the second scenario is likely to get help from a bystander by directly asking them to help, making it known to the bystanders that she actually needs help, and without their intervention the outcome will be disastrous, letting the bystanders that they help, however small is likely to help a great deal among others. Bystanders in the second case scenario might think that the individuals in question have a marital relationship and by helping, they might intrude. By the woman in question directly asking a bystander to help, she is likely to dispel such fear connected to intrusion. Besides, by directly asking for help, the bystander who such a plea is directed to is likely to feel the responsibility of being requested to help (Langer, Ellen & Abelson, 1972). This is likely to dispel the diffusion of responsibility that affects the possibility of receiving help from most bystanders. Also, it is likely that many individuals might be passing by but have not taken time to think that the women in question need help. By letting them know, it is likely that one will dispel the stereotypes as well the possibility of many bystanders not directing their full attention to the issue at hand. As a result, the woman is likely to be helped by different people as her distress is likely to be more vivid to them.
References
Batson, C. D., Ahmad, N., Lishner, D. A., & Tsang, J. (2016). Empathy and altruism. Oxford handbook of hypo-egoic phenomena: Theory and research on the quiet ego , 161-174.
Fischer, P., Krueger, J. I., Greitemeyer, T., Vogrincic, C., Kastenmüller, A., Frey, D., ... & Kainbacher, M. (2011). The bystander-effect: a meta-analytic review on bystander intervention in dangerous and non-dangerous emergencies. Psychological bulletin , 137 (4), 517.
Langer, E. J., & Abelson, R. P. (1972). The semantics of asking a favor: How to succeed in getting help without really dying. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 24 (1), 26.
Rendsvig, R. K. (2014). Pluralistic ignorance in the bystander effect: Informational dynamics of unresponsive witnesses in situations calling for intervention. Synthese , 191 (11), 2471-2498.
