Social psychology is the study of how people influence others' behavior, beliefs, and attitudes. This chapter explored different experiments, stories, and studies that tested how and why humans reacted to situations. A concept that struck me the most is the bystander effect: when one is a part of a group in a situation where someone needs assistance, one is less likely to help because of the presence of other people. An example of this is the violent murder of Kitty Genovese in 1964. She repeatedly screamed out for help for an hour in New York City while being raped, stabbed, and beaten to death, while her neighbors failed to come to her aid. Others assumed that someone else would try to intervene and call 911; this is called a diffusion of responsibility: the reduction in feelings of personal responsibility in the presence of others. The picture below shows how everyone assumes that the person in need doesn't need help or someone else will handle the situation.
Ch. 13: Social Psychology
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Do you think the bystander effect is still as common today as it was in the 60's? People today seem much more understanding and willing to help others. Our age seems to be much more educated and open to ideas. I could be completely wrong, but it's something to think about. Also, I always think about social psychology when people are waiting to cross the street. Some people walk regardless if the walk sign is up or not. Once that person walks, other people then decide whether or not to follow suit and cross the street. It can then turn into a ripple effect but that doesn't happen every time. It's interesting.
Great job going over the bystander effect, but I want to see your thoughts/reactions/etc. The comment by your classmate is exactly what we are looking for in terms of expanding the idea to incorporate your thoughts. Also, in response to that comment, recent studies have duplicated the results and they are quite consistent across time, even in our educated and open society.
We had the exactly same focus on Chapter 13! I was shocked by the truth that people are acting so cold-blooded during the emergency happened arround them which called "bystander effect". In other hand, i think the big part of reason why people just let bad things happened without helping is because the lack of education of altruism in society.