" Murder on the Mind"

   Does anyone know what the Bystander effect is? This was the question asked today in my Psychology 101 class today. In a class with 600 people you would think there's someone bound to answer the question so you don't even bother to raise your hand. This is a perfect example of the Bystander Effect.

" The Bystander Effect" is a psychological research that suggest the more people around to witness a crime the less likely the victim is to get help. The Effect was first researched in the 1960's when a bar owner by the name of Kitty Genovese was sexually assaulted and murdered outside her apartment complex. The people of the complex heard her cries of help many even turned on their lights but no one came to help her.

Social psychologist John Darely and Bibb Latene wanted to know why. We all expect ourselves as humans to help someone in danger if we can, hoping that one day if it were us they would do the same. What happens when your not the only one to witness the crime though? Do you risk getting in harms way or even checking to see if the person is ok? Or is it just not your business?Those were the questions that started the basis of the research and from there many experiments had been conducted in the field and in the lab. After many observations and results they concluded the definition diffusion of responsibility, which is the more people to witness the less responsible we feel to object or intervene in the altercation or situation.

Another reason is pluralistic ignorance. Now what this means is we sometimes make decisions wrong or right based on the actions and look of emotions on the majority of people around us. You ever look around the room before raising your hand that's why. "The Bystander Effect" still happens today and is constantly changing but we as individuals shouldn't just stand there and let it happen, do something don't be just another bystander.

Here is a video demonstrating the Bystander Effect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcowGVd6GqY

Hambrick, David " The Biology of the Mind" Psychology 101. Wells Hall, East Lansing. September 21,2016. Lecture.

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