Ever been a witness to someone being robbed on the street? A person taking a beating or being mistreated, harmed? Noticed how not many people run to the person to help them out? How most people just sorta stand there and watch?

This is what psychologists have named the Bystander Effect: any given bystander is less likely to give aid if other bystanders are present.

So basically, we are more likely to help someone in need if the number of other witnesses is low or we are alone with them! An experiment done showed that if someone dropped a coin in an elevator with only one other person that person would help 40% of the time... if there were 6 other people it was reduced less by 20% with each passenger (Myers,1986).

Comments? Anyone been through a similar situation?

i dont like to interfere in whats going between others...

unless someone i know is involved...

if something serious, i'd rather contact the police/authorities!

I recently dropped my tools and papers while on my way to class and there were a hundreds of students around me and no one offered to help me pick up the scattered papers.. the pens and paints that fell all around me . The same thing happened to me earlier during the year.. where my notes fell from me ( yes i know I'm clumsy!) and there were just two students next to and they helped me pick up the notes that fell.

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If someone who was directly next to me needed help then I guess i would offer it , but if it was way out of my range then i dont see why i dont think i would.

I witnessed 2 Omani teenagers on bike harrassing and literally beating a young (maybe 7-8 years old) Bangladeshi kid, who happens to be my neighbors son. Since they rode off as soon as I shouted, I grabbed my car keys and chased them down and beat one of 'em ... the other just ran.

I know I'm aggresive sometimes, but beating a kid is a BIG no-no as far as I'm concerned!

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Besides, I think one should offer whatever kind of help they can, but without interfering in someone else's personal life though. If I see a husband verbally abusing his wife in public, I don't think I'll walk up and talk them off it unless I know them personally. :os

If something bad was happening to someone in front of me, then I'd do something!! I cant understand how people can just stand and watch.. all they need is popcorn to complete the picture. :irk:

Once it happened outside the comany.. Egyptian family.. they were arguing..

husband was in a taxi front seat and three kids were at the back.. I must say the wife was so harsh and was so angry.. she was actually holding open the door on her husbands' side and she was hitting her husband, slapping him on his face and say all those mean words!
We called the police to come and solve the problem, we felt sorry for the kids who had to see all that.

They were asked to leave the place.

But that was one angry woman.. I am sure.. she got so fed up with her husbands attitude and that time she just couldnt take it anymore. ( Maybe he deserved all that)

I think it's somehow true. When you're alone and you see someone in need, you just automatically rush to that person to give help because you know if you don't, then things can get worse.

When the number of bystanders increase, you feel less compelled to give any help, because you'd say, well there are a lot of people here, someone will eventually help, someone who probably knows what to do best!

I haven't been in such a situation before, so I can't really say what I would do if I ever was, I think I'd act out of common sense really!

I was once talking on the mobile while waiting for the tram. I didn't notice the tram coming and was actually walking on its way.. it was probably 2-3 meters far from me when i noticed it. The platform was full of people and not even one tried to warn me about it!

Another incident, a girl was actually standing on the tram route while it wasn't moving. i saw her although i was on the other side of the road. Couldn't do anythign and no one care to warn her. the tram bumped her but thank god it was just a push and she didn't get hurt.

People will never help and mostly will ignore just because they'll rely on others to do that. Seems this study is very true!

I think the reason why when there's a large amount of people, the Bystander Effect is more evident is because each person expects someone else to help. They think "oh, someone else will help." But if everyone thinks that way then no one helps so I think we should help anyway. Why be the majority when we can be the minority?