Bystander intervention

Question 1

Bystander intervention

Answer 1

whether we choose to help someone in need or not is dependent on many factors that can be broadly defined as situational and personal

Question 2

Situational factors

Answer 2

1. A factors that affect bystander intervention

2. situational factors are features of a situation that influence how likely we are to intervene in an emergency

Question 3

Personality/Personal factors

Answer 3

1. A factors that affect bystander intervention
2. Personality factors are features that are specific to us that influence whether we help or not
3. e.g. traits, abilities
4. In cases, where people fail to help, it is often assumed that the person not helping does not care or that they lack moral character
5. However psychological research indicates that although some personality factors can influence whether or not we help, bystander intervention is largely influenced by situational factors

Question 4

Situational factors affecting bystander intervention

Answer 4

1. diffusion of responsibility
2. noticing the event
3. pluralistic ignorance
4. cost of helping

Question 5

diffusion of responsibility

Answer 5

1. One of the main reasons for the bystander effect is because we feel less personally responsible when there are more people around to potentially help
2. When we witness an emergency situation in a crowd, the larger the crowd is, the less responsibility individuals feel to intervene because we diffuse the responsibility onto others
3. We justify out inaction because there are plenty of others who can help instead
4. In a smaller crowd, we may feel more inclined to intervene and help because there are fewer people to share responsibility with
5. This social influence on our behaviour is called diffusion of responsibility
6. We believe others will help so we do not have to

Question 6

Noticing the event

Answer 6

1. In large crowds, we tend to keep to ourselves and pay less attention to what is going on around us
2. We are therefore less likely to notice an emergency situation that when on our own
3. If you were in a room and smoke starting billowing under to door, you would probably notice this and raise the alarm right away. However In 1969, an experiment by Latane and Darley found the they were longer to notice the smoke and slower to react when in a group compared to being on your own

Question 7

Pluralistic ignorance

Answer 7

1. When in situations, we often look to others and react based on what other people are doing
2. We look to others to help us interpret the situation
3. If we see a large number of people not helping, we are likely to interpret the situation as a non-emergency, even if that is not the case
4. However, if we witness other people helping, we are likely to offer assistance as well
5. This social influence on our behaviour is known as pluralistic ignorance which is when we interpret the situation according to others’ reactions

Question 8

Cost of helping

Answer 8

1. Sometimes we evaluate the situation as having too high a cost as it risks harm to ourselves, so we choose not to help
2. If an emergency situation is judged as dangerous, such as intervening in a fight, we tend not to risk getting involved
3. Similarly, if we are in a rush and do not have time to stop, we are less inclined to help as it is a cost to ourselves
4. However, if the cost of not helping is great, such as a person experiencing a dangerous emergency, then we are more likely to help because the cost for the victim is greater than the cost to ourselves
5. This may appear to be a selfless act because we are placing ourselves in harms way for another, but actually we may be selfishly trying to avoid the guilt we would experience had we not helped

Question 9

Personal factors affecting bystander intervention

Answer 9

1. competence
2. mood
3. similarity

Question 10

Competence

Answer 10

1. if we feel competent enough to help, this can influence whether we help or not and the type of help we give
2. for e.g. if we are trained in using CPR to resuscitate a person who has stopped breathing, we are more likely to intervene in a situation where this is required and would perform the skill directly to the victim
3. Without such competence, we are less likely to help
4. If we do help, we are more likely to offer indirect intervention such as calling for an ambulance

Question 11

Mood

Answer 11

1. people are more likely to intervene and help another if they are in a good mood
2. when we are in a bad mood or feel sad, we tend to focus our attention inwardly on ourselves
3. When in a happy mood, we tend to look outward and pay attention to others around us
4. This gives us the opportunity to perceive others in need of help and go to their assistance

Question 12

Similarity

Answer 12

1. if we perceive ourselves as similar to a person in need, we are more likely to help them
2. we identify with the victim and we can see how the same fate may be true for us
3. e.g. if you were a victim of bullying at school, it is likely that you might intervene in a bullying incident