(Before you begin to read this blog post I would like to make it known that rape is discussed in this post and I understand if you chose not to read my post)
If someone was in serious need of help and was only an arms length away, do you think you would help them? It is possible that you would try to help but there is also the chance that you decide not to but are unaware why. The decision to not help could be attributed to the bystander effect, which is a phenomenon that causes us to not intervene or help in an emergency situation due to the presence of others. The following video helps to explain the bystander effect. It shows real cases of how having people around you can affect your decision to help or not.
Sometimes the bystander effect does not always need a large amount of people, it may only take a few others to sway our choice. An example of this involves a photographer by the name of Kevin Carter who was a South African photojournalist that won the Pulitzer Prize for the picture shown below.
This was a very highly talked about photograph due to the actions of the photographer after the picture was taken. Kevin Carter told reporters that he sat in this spot for 20 minutes waiting for the vulture to open its wings. When this did not happen he took the picture, shooed the vulture away, and left. It is said that the child was walking to an aid station nearby but was out of breath and had to stop to regather some energy to continue. Carter was accompanied by 3 other photographers, so why did none of them try to help the young child? Carter stated it was "none of his business" and that it was the medical aides responsibility to assist the child {2}. This is what is called diffusion of responsibility. A person is more likely to not take action in a situation due to the amount of people around them and the belief that someone else will do something to help. Even though 3 other people is not a large amount, Carter knew there were nurses and aides 'not too far away' which made him feel like he did not have to take action. These examples show that if we all assume that someone else will help and it's not our responsibility, no one will help. It is unknown what happened to the child.
Even though this has not been the most cheerful topic, let's not lose hope just yet. There are still some ways we can help each other and become more aware of the bystander effect. People often don't help because they feel it is none of their business but you can still help without directly intervening. I recall my freshman year in college we were required to take a video course based on how to change from being a bystander to an 'upstander'. This video breaks down some useful techniques that could be used to avoid becoming a bystander;
I'd like to hear your thoughts about the bystander effect and if you have ever been impacted by it.
Have you ever been in need of help and the people around you didn't decide to help? or have you been the bystander that believed it was not any of your business?
Have you ever been in need of help and the people around you didn't decide to help? or have you been the bystander that believed it was not any of your business?
References;
Bystander Effect. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/bystander-effect
CHITALE, R. (2009, October 29). How Could People Watch Alleged Gang Rape 'Like An Exhibit'? Retrieved from https://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/bystanders-teen-raped/story?id=8948465
Diffusion of responsibility. (2019, April 03). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_responsibility
Reed College. (n.d.). Reed College. Retrieved from https://www.reed.edu/psychology/pluralisticignorance/
I really enjoyed reading your post, as it goes over some very important topics. I think just about everyone has been affected by the bystander effect at one point in our lives, whether we were totally aware of it or not. When I was younger and I had to ride the bus, there would be kids yelling at each other and calling people names. I would just sit there and mind my own business because I didn’t think it was my place to interfere. I like to think that now I would do something to help if I was ever in a similar situation, but I can’t say for sure. I feel like it is very easy for people to just be a bystander. As humans, we constantly look to others for reassurance. It can be quite the human flaw (as the bystander effect highlights). It’s worrisome that this bystander effect can lead to people being physically harmed and getting no help. Watching that video with the guy trying to pitch a tent was a great way to show how the bystander effect really impacts people’s decision making process. I think it’s important that we talk about how serious this effect can be, since I’m sure no one want to let someone be harmed to the extent that the young girl was in 2009.
ReplyDeleteI very much liked your post Jade. I also very much agree that these are topics that need to be talked about. Surely everyone reading this blog has been impacted by the bystander effect. I remember an instance from my childhood where my parents and myself were impacted by the bystander effect. We were at Michigan's Adventure in Muskegon. After a long hot day in the sun we walked and returned to our car. In the middle of loading up into the car, we all sat and watched this a motherly figure yell at the top of her lungs at her kids about how bad they were behaving. While I was likely unable to say something as a result of my age, my parents were definitely impacted by the bystander effect. I am also skipping over the frustrations parents have with their kids, but I am sure they didn't deserve being treated that way. What are some personal examples of the bystander effect for you Jade?
ReplyDeleteI also agree that these topics should be talked about more. Many people don’t like to discuss these topics as they are seen as “depressing” or “off-limits”, but that only exacerbates the issue. The first step to fixing any issue is acknowledging the issue existence and admitting there is an issue. I’m glad you decided to speak up about this topic, and I hope more people do the same in the future.
DeleteThank you for reading my post. It was a lot more difficult to write about these examples than I expected. Finding the correct words to describe the gruesome events while also not trying to underplay the severity was a challenge. I have definitely been impacted by the bystander effect. One that really comes to mind is my freshman year at a university in Minnesota. I was in the dining hall eating with some of my friends and there was a man with a seeing eye dog. The dog was giving the man a bit of trouble because the dog just wanted to eat the food that it kept finding on the floor. The man was clearly trying to leave but his dog was not assisting him. I remember I couldn't stop observing this interaction between the dog and the man but I felt like I couldn't get up to help. luckily, someone else in the dining hall was also watching and went up to the man and asked if she could help him get to where he was wanting to go. I wish I could have helped and the worst part is I don't know why I couldn't. I'm really hoping that because I am now aware of the bystander effect. I can ignore the voice in the back of my head saying its someone else's responsibility, and try my best to help whoever needs it.
DeleteThanks for the response Jade. That's a good example of the bystander effect that everyone else can relate to.
DeleteI found that section about the child to be really disturbing. I mean, just imagine trying to make your way to aid station for help, with vultures literally circling around you waiting for you to die, and some guy is just taking pictures of you while this all goes down. The bystander effect truly is awful, and really shines a light on the worst parts of humanity. I did enjoy the article though, it was very well written and brought up some very hard-hitting examples of the bystander effect that I think deserve a hard look at.
ReplyDeleteIt is pretty sad that people will just sit and watch when there is an obvious sign that help is needed. However, I think a lot of people are affected by the bystander effect, and it's hard to really understand why we didn't do anything. We all want want to help others, but sometimes we freeze. On the internet, you always see these videos that people will take of situations that you do not think should be recorded. For example, I remember that there was a video that was circulating on the internet of someone that was hanging on for their life after they almost fell out of a roller coaster. One particular person thought that this would be a great time to take out their phone and start videotaping the incident instead of trying to assist. Luckily, there were multiple people that gathered together to catch the individual as they let go. I just have a hard time understanding why someone would want to just stand by and videotape something that could turn out to be a fatal event.
DeleteThis was a very thorough article and made great points. I have personally experienced this effect years ago. I had just come from my shift as a lifeguard and saw a man collapse on the concrete. There was blood pooling around his head and me and my friend immediately asked the nearest man to call 911. It was surprising to realize how many people were tentative to ignore the situation or look to another bystander to help out. Fortunately the situation was under control and the man made a full recovery but those situations can go south very quickly, and its important to not succumb to the bystander effect if at all possible. It can sometimes be life or death. Your article reinforces this perfectly.
ReplyDeleteAn absolutely tragic story--the dance one.
ReplyDeleteI do disagree about your analysis of the photographer one. If you were a photographer documenting nature, and say, you encountered a small animal that was stuck in the plastic that holds 6 cans together--would you rush to free it? Or would you photograph it first, documenting the harsh reality of pollution and littering we live in? Likewise, if you were a photographer at a rally-turned-violent, would you pack your lenses and try to help the injured? Or capture the carnage, to show the world what divisions among us can turn into?
Most photographers (that I've heard of anyways) prefer to not intervene in any of the photos they take; they want them to reflect the reality that is. They're just people there to document the world, not change it.
I appreciate you commenting with a different point of view. When people are passionate about something it is hard to see the other side of the story. I too agree that it is not photographers duty to intervene in all situations that they are documenting, as their safety is important too. With that thought it mind I am currently studying Wildlife at Michigan Tech, so I do believe that if I was documenting an animal in distress (that couldn't seriously injure me) I would try to assist it. As for a riot or a more dangerous situation I can sort of understand not wanting to put yourself in harms way. This however comes back to the notion of if we assume that it is not our responsibility then others are probably thinking the same thing. I personally would not be able to live with myself if I knew that someone lost their life or was seriously injured because I didn't step in to help. I can't reason with the idea of taking a picture of someone, injured or in need, and walking away. If photographers want to preserve the reality of it, they should take the picture and then help. Do you believe that all photographers should be excused from helping because they are trying to document it?
DeleteI think it is horrible what happened to that girl and unfortunately many other people as well. The fact that people were there filming it instead of helping really made me mad. I then realized that this is a daily occurrence that people decide to film instead of intervene. For example when I was in high school, there was a big fight in the cafeteria. It was crazy to see how many people circled around the fight and filming it on their phone rather than try to stop them. I understand that some people think it is not their place to step up, but it is not an excuse to just watch and then film it! I am curious to see how the increase of technology, social media, and phones have affected the bystander effect. I cannot help but believe it has increased the number of bystanders. Do you think the use of social media has affected the bystander effect at all?
ReplyDeleteVery interesting example of the bystander effect, I personally think that social media has to have some effect on it all. Where people are sometimes more interested in documenting and sharing the act rather than helping. That's just my personal view.
DeleteIt is extremely sad that the photographers refused to help the child because it "wasn't their responsibility." The diffusion of responsibility is something that happens all too often because most of the time it is seen as something that does not cause an impact. In the case of the photographers not helping the child is an example of when this is extremely harmful, especially when the photographers more than likely made a large amount of money for the picture and people probably thought that they would have helped them, and the photographers are held to a higher status because of this.
ReplyDeleteThe photograph went on to win a very well established prize called the Pulitzer Prize, so the photograph got a lot of attention. I do not believe that the 'responsibility' was one persons either. As said in the post, there was 3 other photographers along with Carter, they all could have helped the child in some way. Whither that was getting an aide or helping her get to the station by picking her up. It is a very unfortunate situation that I'm sure has happened numerous times before and will continue to happen.
DeleteAnd this is especially horrifying. Many people will look the other way with regards to a homeless, starving adult because they assume that they got themselves to that point somehow. But I feel like its a nearly universal reaction to drop everything to help children, even if you don't like them! I wonder if he's just seen children in this situation so many times that he's become numb to it?
DeleteThe story with the photographer really strikes me because this is something I think of a lot whenever I encounter photos/videos online of someone hurt or being hurt. The fact that the photographer saw the pain or importance in the situation but that their response was to show other people instead of doing anything really troubles me.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your post and I really appreciate that you used the examples that you did as I believe that this is something that should be talked about more often. I myself have had a run in with the bystander effect. I was once involved in a pretty bad car accident and was unable to get out of the car. This was on a main highway and many cars passed by me without stopping to help. I was stuck in the car for probably 5-10 min before a few guys stopped and pulled me and my friend out and helped us call 911. The bystander effect is something that I think we should teach kids at a young age to maybe help combat some of the effects. Wonderful article overall, I enjoyed reading it.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. On the topic of the photographer in Africa, this is an odd circumstance. Members of the media are often involved in many circumstances of terrible situations. But what is the morally right thing to do? The photographer is suppose to take pictures of the life of tough situations but should they put down the camera and help? Maybe give the kid some food or a glass of water. Although that seems like the morally right decision, the people of the media have to do their jobs too. That is probably why being a photographer of these events in Africa would not be the job for me. It would kill me to have to make decisions like this day after day.
ReplyDelete