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The Kitty Genovese case is the most famous example of the bystander effect. Ms. Genovese was stabbed to death in 1964 by a serial rapist and murderer. According to newspaper accounts, the killing took place for at least a half an hour. The murderer attacked Ms. Genovese and stabbed her, but then fled the scene after attracting the attention of a neighbor. The killer then returned ten minutes later and finished the assault. Newspaper reports after Genovese's death claimed that 38 witnesses watched the stabbings and failed to intervene or even contact the police. This led to widespread public attention, and many editorials.
genovese. kitty genovese . N.d. kitty genovese, new york. Bystander Effect. Web. 6 Jan. 2013.
The bystander effect is described as the idea that individuals are more likely to help when alone
than when in the company of others (Latane & Darley, 1970). There is a large amount of
literature examining helping behaviors and trying to understand under what conditions do people
decide to help others and models of the bystander effect have developed over time.
Halldora. The Bystander Effect. N.d. wordpress, new york. http://kalldoro.wordpress.com. Web. 6 Jan. 2013.
Four years after the Ms Genovese, Latané and Darley (1968) began studying bystanders in emergency situations. In two studies conducted, Latané and Darley (1968) state that their work suggested that “the presence of bystanders may affect an individual in several ways; including both “social influence” and “diffusion of responsibility.” These two concepts will be discussed, as well as other causes that may give reason for others to not react when witnessing crime.
Latané and Darley sat a series of college students in a cubicle amongst a number of other cubicles in which there were tapes of other students playing (the student thought they were real people). One of the voices cries for help and makes sounds of severe choking. When the student thought they were the only person there, 85% rushed to help. When they thought there was one other person, this dropped to 65%. And when they thought there were four other people, this dropped again to 31%.
They also faked epileptic seizures on the streets of New York and found that when there was only one bystander, they were helped 85% of the time, but when there were five bystanders, help came only in 30% of these trials.