The bystander effect: sex differences in helping behaviour in emergency and non-emergency situations literature review

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The bystander effect: sex differences in helping behaviour in emergency and non-emergency situations literature review

The circumstances of Kitty Genovese's murder in 1964 triggered much research. The woman was brutally murdered outside her home in New York while numerous onlookers in their apartments (surrounded by one another) did nothing. A number of researchers (Darley & Latane´, 1968) have investigated the bystander effect-the phenomenon that a lone bystander is more likely to help than any of a group of bystanders. Darley & Latane´ (1968) said that in an emergency, a lone bystander feels the full responsibility to help, while multiple bystanders are able to diffuse this responsibility.

It is possible that other factors influence the bystander effect; people may be influenced by characteristics of the person in need or of the situation itself. Another view is that bystanders are influenced by the urgency of the situation. Fischer, Greitemeyer, Pollozek and Frey (2006) recently countered this idea. They found that the bystander effect is actually reduced in an emergency. However, Darley & Latane´'s (1968) earlier research stated that "interpreting the event as an emergency" is a key factor when one is deciding to take action. Thus, bystanders are more likely