Bystander Apathy

The situation that I witnessed was a car accident a couple of years ago when I was only 16 years old. I was in disbelief; I have never seen a car crash so up close before. It was just 25 feet away from where I was standing. When I saw what had just happened I did not know what to do at the time. But many people came to the aid of the two drivers involved in the accident and no matter what nationality they were, people came together to help someone in need whom they did not know. People that witnessed the crash as I did went right away to their aid to see if they were alright, while others called for an ambulance. I was surprised that I did not help the two individuals involved in the car accident, and just observed this tragic event. I was probably in an emotional state of mind during this situation and did not even know it. Teamwork is all about communication. During this incident many people from different ethnic groups came together to help someone in need whom they did not know. When a problem arises, either individually or within society, people must take immediate action and not observe the situation occurring in front of us. This is known as bystander apathy. According to Holc & Giampetro-Meyer, "Bystander apathy refers to situations in which individuals feel no sense of personal responsibility to take action during a stressful or even violent event when many other people are observing it also" (Pg. 92).

Researchers have thoroughly studied the possibility of a relationship between the effects of individuals and their actions in a state of bystander apathy. The well-known Kitty Genovese murder illustrates where many people witnessed or heard cries for help and did nothing about the situation to help this woman from being brutally murdered. According to Howard & Crano, " It is conceivable that the presence of numerous bystanders might facilitate, rather than hinder, the production of altruistic responses in a criminal emergency situation, since the presence of many others might generate feelings of security on part of the bystanders" (Pg. 493). Many other researchers believe that the high risk of the situation will make observers ignore the incident and also that the sex of the victim in need will receive more or less aid from observers. According to Brodsky & Hakkert, "...what effect their actions might have on the subsequent recovery of the injured, and whether location has any influence on decisions" (Pg. 303). Brodsky & Hakkert are suggesting that the location of the accident or attack, poor weather conditions and time of day will influence a witness reaction towards helping the individual in need. After analyzing the car crash situation that I witnessed when I was very young, I realized that I and other individuals were in the same state of mind. The location, weather and time of day did not affect the other individuals who intervened during this horrible car accident because it was a clear summer day during the afternoon and occurred during a very busy intersection in Rivière Des Prairies. I was considered to be in the bystander apathy effect because I believed that the other observers would have done something to aid the victims involved in the car crash. If there was one individual that witnessed this incident instead of a group of people, the response would have been more effective and efficient. Researchers claim that one person is better than a group of people because the first passerby on the road will feel more guilt for not intervening (Brodsky & Hakkert Pg. 314).

Annotated Bibliography

Brodsky, H. & Hakkert, A. S. (1985). Accessibility and Bystander Response in an Emergency. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 10, 303-316. Retrieved May 7, 2008 from JSTOR. .

This journal article goes in depth in its research to prove if there are any lurking variables that can influence people to be affected by the bystander apathy. The article was very useful for explaining the causes for individuals acting the way they do and not intervene when a situation arises.

Gutschi, M. SOUTHAMSTAR NETWORK (1992, January 18). Teenagers and elderly more likely to pitch in: [SA2 Edition]. Toronto Star, p. G9. Retrieved May 7, 2008, from Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies database. (Document ID: 453220861).

This newspaper article talks about the possible outcome for someone to be under the bystander apathy. The article was not very useful because it did not provide any evidences or influential causes that can make someone to be under this state of mind.

Holc, J., Giampetro-Meyer, A. (1997). Encouraging Students to Demonstrate Intellectual Behavior That Professors Respect. College Teaching. Vol.45 Retrieved March 30, 2008 from

This internet journal article provided me with a meaningful description of the word "bystander apathy". This article was a somewhat useful source because it provided me with a specific meaning of this psychological phenomenon.

Howard, W. & Crano, W. D. (1974). Effects of Sex, Conversation, Location, and Size of Observer Group on Bystander Intervention in a High Risk Situation. Sociometry, 37, 491-507. Retrieved May 7, 2008 from JSTOR. .

The researchers explain the possible effects that can delay response time to an emergency situation. They believe that the "social influence" and "diffusion of responsibility" combine may cause the bystander effect to more likely to occur. This article was useful; it gave me different possible views that can explain this effect from happening.

Huston, L. T., Ruggiero, M. et al. (1981). Bystander Intervention Into Crime: A Study Based on Naturally-Occurring Episodes. Social Psychology Quarterly, 44, 14-23. Retrieved May 7, 2008 from JSTOR. .

This journal article attempts to explain the reason why people do not intervene when they see someone in need. The researchers state that the observers can not recognize the urgency of the situation presented in front of them. I did not find this article to be very useful because it did not provide me with enough evidences to prove its points.

Responsible citizenship: [Final Edition]. (2002, December 31). The Ottawa Citizen, p. A14. Retrieved May 6, 2008, from Canadian Newsstand Major Dailies database. (Document ID: 272551221).

This newspaper article describes the event that occurred where many onlookers did nothing to assist a woman screaming for help. This article was not very useful because it did not provide any explanation behind the bystander effect for occurring.