On Bystanders Coming to Help Strangers in Need

"It's one of the most enduring urban myths of all: If you get in trouble, don't count on anyone nearby to help. Research dating back to the late 1960s documents how the great majority of people who witness crimes or violent behavior refuse to intervene.

"Psychologists dubbed this non-response as the 'bystander effect' - a phenomenon which has been replicated in scores of subsequent psychological studies. The 'bystander effect' holds that the reason people don't intervene is because we look to one another. The presence of many bystanders diffuses our own sense of personal responsibility, leading people to essentially do nothing and wait for someone else to jump in.

"Past studies have used police reports to estimate the effect, but results ranged from 11 percent to 74 percent of incidents being interventions. Now, widespread surveillance cameras allow for a new method to assess real-life human interactions. A new study published this year in the American Psychologist finds that this well-established bystander effect may largely be a myth. The study uses footage of more than 200 incidents from surveillance cameras in Amsterdam; Cape Town; and Lancaster, England."

A recent CityLab article reported on this study.

To access the complete report, please visit:

CityLab: How Often Will Bystanders Help Strangers in Need? (11 JUL 19)