As children, we were taught to always intervene in one way or another. If another child was in danger or in trouble, we were told to tell a teacher if we were on the playground, or to tell the nearest adult. Some of us were even taught to use a phone and dial 911 for real emergencies. But as we grow older, do we lose that lesson, or does the heat of the moment that distracts us from actually helping someone in danger and in trouble? The answer is neither. The real answer to the question is that you were under the bystander effect. The bystander effect is the likelihood that that the greater the number of bystanders who witness an emergency situation, the greater the chance of the bystanders will likely not help. .
The bystander effect was discovered by New York social psychologists Bibb Latané and John Darley in 1987. One day, they were discussing the recent murder of Kitty Genovese. They both hypothesized that the more people who witness an emergency, the less likely it is that anyone of the people who witnessed it will intervene at all. Latané and Darley conducted an experiment testing their hypothesis using the experimental method. A group of college students were placed in separate cubicles in a room. An experimenter then tells the students that there are 5 other people participating. All of the students receive a pair of headphones and an attached microphone. The experimenter told the students that he was interested in learning about different personal problems college students' experience. Each student got 2 minutes to talk about some problems they were facing. When the students began, the first participant admits that he has problems adjusting to college life and then admits he has seizures when he's under stress. After the rest of the students finish their 2 minutes of problems, the first participant begins to experience a seizure. 69% of the participants remained silent and in their cubicle as they listen to the participant seizure, doing nothing to help him.
