topic 5 - bystander intervention Flashcards
what are the different factors on whether we choose to help someone in need or not?
situational and personal factors
what are the situational factors affecting bystander intervention?
DNPC
diffusion of responsibility, noticing the event, pluralistic ignorance and cost of helping
what does the term ‘diffusion of responsibility’ mean?
explain it, give examples etc
it refers to when we believe that others will help so we don’t have to.
When there are more people around we feel less personally responsible for helping the person as there are more people around who could potentially help. If there are less people around then we feel more personally responsible for helping the person as there are less people around to share the responsibility with.
what does the term ‘noticing the event’ mean? explain it, give examples etc
this refers to the likelihood where we notice an emergency situation. In large crowds we tend to keep to ourselves and pay less attention to what is happening around us.
what does the term ‘pluralistic ignorance’ mean? explain it, give examples etc
this refers to when we interpret the situation according to the reactions of others.
when we are in a situation, we look to others to help us interpret the situation. If someone is injured or hurt and we see a large number of people not helping then we are likely to interpret the situation as a non-emergency even if that is not the case. In a smaller crowd, we may feel more incline to intervene and help because there are fewer people to share the responsibility with. In an emergency we are less likely to be influenced by the behaviour of others.
what does the term ‘cost of helping’ mean? explain it, give examples etc
this refers to when we evaluate a situation of having too high of a cost as it risks harm to ourselves so we choose not to help.
if we are in a rush the cost of helping is a cost to ourselves as we cannot stop to help. We are more likely to help if the cost of the victim is greater than the cost to ourselves.
An example of this is if someone fell into the train tracks in a subway, we many not jump in to help as we fear for our own lives.
what are personal factors that affect bystander intervention?
competence, mood and similarity
explain the term ‘competence’ relating it to bystander intervention.
this refers to the confidence and knowledge we have in order to help someone.
If we feel competent enough to help a person with an injury which we know how to treat or basic first aid then this can influence whether we help or not.
Without competence we are less likely to help and instead bystanders experience indirect intervention such as calling for an ambulance.
explain the term ‘mood’ relating it to bystander intervention.
this refers to the way a person feels at any given time. It can be positive or negative.
People are more likely to help someone if they are in a good mood. As they look outward from themselves and pay attention to others around them. This gives us an opportunity to perceive others in need of help and offer our assistance.
When someone is in a bad mood or feel sad then they tend to focus their attention, inwardly towards themselves.
explain the term ‘similarity’ relating it to bystander intervention.
this refers to the way we perceive ourselves similar to the person in need.
If we perceive ourselves similar to the person in need, we are more likely to help as we can identify with the victim and we can see how the same fate may be true for us.
An example of this is if you witness someone being bullied and you were bullied in your life then you may step in to intervene as you can relate with the victim.
