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Bystander theory strengths and limitations
Bystander theory strengths and limitations
Bystander theory strengths and limitations
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The following four empirical studies focus on the topic of bystander intervention. Each study focused on various aspects of how bystander intervention related to a particular situation. Fischer & Greitemeyer (2013) studied the how the positive bystander effect was impacted in a field study. There had been a substantial amount of laboratory studies done on the subject, and field studies were lacking. They observed individuals at a subway station in a Germanic city. This field experiment was used to find the interaction of a passive bystander in a set situation of bike theft with no victim on site. The major variables studied included the dependent variable of the intervention of the individuals and the independent variable of presumed negative …show more content…
This research implied that future researchers on this subject ought to focus on the measures of helping, in terms of relationships. In addition, Bennett & Baynard (2016) indicated the importance of future analysis how the severity of a situation will affect the possible intervention. Relationships are an important focus in the subject of bystander intervention, as interactions with others will influence the decision making of a person in terms of a decision to intervene, in part. The severity of a situation is related to this decision-making, and may lead to a person who will potentially intervene in forming a conclusion of if the event if an emergency. Additionally, both the previous and following studies involve undergraduate students as participants. This is helpful, as an undergraduate student is generally eager to express an honest opinion, which may lead to a more valid …show more content…
The intention of the experiment was to assess the impact of the poster campaign for new college students. The posters had hung in two residence halls for six weeks, with one control hall. Vital factors to this study included a dependent variable of how readily a participant would help another in a hazardous situation, and the fact that the control variables between the three halls included sexual assault education, rape-myth belief, age, or gender. Preceding the six-week opportunity for the posters to have impacted the students, an opportunity to fill out a survey on the influence it had made, giving the participants a possible compensation. In addition to the scale which tested the readiness of the participants to help others in hazardous situations, two other measures were used to evaluate related subjects to the poster campaign. Katz et al. (2013) used another scale, which rated the participants’ beliefs on the subject of sexual assault. A photo of the poster was used to expose the participants’ perceptions of the poster campaign, and the impact it had made on how they would intervene in a possible event in the future, as a
“I felt his hands start to move down towards my shorts as if he was trying to unbutton them or pull them off. I was still crying at this point and felt so scared that I couldn’t move” (Henneberger, 2012). These are words written by a college freshman after she had been raped, but they are true for many others as well. According to the Rape Crisis Center of Medina and Summit Counties, “every two minutes someone in the US is sexually assaulted” (Get the Facts). “Girls ages 16-19 are four times more likely than the than the general population to be victims of sexual assault” (Get the Facts). These women may be described as slut, cheap, or ready for action, rather than victim, sufferer, or survivor. Rape myths encourage these demeaning terms for women and conceal the reality of rape culture. I will describe the pervasiveness of sexual assault on college campuses as well as the systems and procedures in place to address it. Power plays a role in this issue, including the powerful men on campus such as athletes and fraternity members as well as the administrators in power who regulate the punishments and actions that are taken against the perpetrators. The influence of those in power often goes overlooked in our society because it has become so intertwined with our culture.
Marcus, R.F., & Jenny, B. (1977). A Naturalistic Study of the Reciprocity in the Helping
The world is quickly becoming a more dangerous place everyday. Approximately 25,961 crimes happen every day in the U.S, many of which are witnessed by individuals at the scene of the crime. However, the sad reality is that those people are more concerned with recording the event on their phone than actually helping the one in need. A number of studies have been performed, and it has been discovered that there is a physiological phenomenon known as the bystander effect(Levine,”Rethinking”). The bystander effect occurs when someone is in need, there are others to witness their need, but they do nothing(Levine,”Rethinking”). Through experimentation it has been determined that the dependent variable in whether the witness will intervene or not
The bystander effect is also known as bystander apathy. This theory holds that individuals are not as likely to offer assistance to a victim
While other behaviors aimed at helping others, less often studied, are compared to helping people in distress.
...rated. Since bystander effect is a complicated problem related to various fields such as psychology, sociology, and ethics, integrated efforts from multilateral aspects are required. While the bystander effect still exists in the society, there is always a certainty for another tragedy of Catherine Kitty Genovese to happen. Without individual and social effort to effectively eradicate the bystander effect, everyone, including you, may fall to be the next victim.
Within the last few decades, sexual violence has come “to light” as a crime that has destructive implications that drag on for years (Grotpeter, Menard, Gianola, &O’Neal, 2008). With the help of the media, law enforcement and new laws regarding sexual offenders, people are more aware of the crime. The awareness is of the risks that make people more likely to become a victim. However, awareness should also shed light on the predictive factors as to why people commit sexual assaults in the first place. The National Criminal Justice Reference Service (NCJRS) reported that there is no single type of person that is more likely to commit a sexual offense. Regardless of sex, gender, socioeconomic status, etc., there is no way to determine if any individual will become a sexual offender based on this information alone (NCJRS, n.d.). So, what makes someone more likely to commit a sexual offense on another human being? This question is quite difficult to really narrow down. However, there are certain factors that need to be explored that can provide a better idea of what really goes through the mind of a sexual offender before the crime even takes place. Once a better understanding of predictive factors of sexual offenders is offered, then preventative measures can begin. In order to fully examine potential factors that can lead to a sexual assault, scientific studies that have been conducted over the subject should be reviewed to understand the question being raised.
On March 13, 1964 a girl by the name of Catherine Susan Genovese “Kitty” was being stabbed to death outside her apartment. Many of her neighbors heard her cry for help but no one took action in view of the fact that they didn’t want to put themselves in danger. Detectives investigated the death of Genovese and discovered that no fewer than 38 of her neighbors had witnessed at least one of her killer’s three attacks but had neither come to her aid nor called the police. How could this happen? The people who were stunned by watching Mrs. Genovese being stabbed to death instead of taking action is the stimulus for research in the psychological phenomenon known as the “Bystander Effect.”
Nevertheless, sexual assaults are a serious college concern. According to studies reviewed in the ACHA Campus Violence White Paper, approximately 15-20% of female college students report being the victim of forced intercourse (rape) and approximately 5-15% of college men admit forcing intercourse on a partner (Carr, 2005) . Most sexual assaults involved persons who knew each other. Less than one-quarter of rape/sexual assaults were committed by strangers. Furthermore, most of the sexual assaults involved use of alcohol or other
In a study done by both Bibb Latane and John Darley, they measured the amount of time it took individuals to respond and act in a given situation based on the number of people present in the room (Bystander). They found that when individuals were in rooms by themselves and smoke filled the room, there was a 75 percent chance of the person reporting the smoke (Bystander). Whereas, when people were placed in rooms which contained other participants there was only a 38 percent chance of the people reporting the incident (Bystander). This unfortunately is not the only study which comes to a similar conclusion. A social experiment done by teenagers at a local high school shows the same thing. The students went around the school and asked their classmates and teachers if they would help a student that was found passed out in the halls (YouTube). All of those who were interviewed said yes they would. When this situation was tested, it proved the students to be liars. Over 70 (if not more) students walked over the body of the passed out girl (YouTube). Some even took pictures and laughed (YouTube). No one helped the girl because they all believed that it was not their job due to the presence of others. Looking at everyday life it is easy to see how the bystander effect can not only be applied to big situations such as the ones listed above, but also, to small ones. Such as, walking down a hall and walking by a piece if trash someone dropped. Most people (if not all) will continue walking and refuse to pick up the trash because it was not their doing. Perhaps this is a contributing factor to the fact that many people go without help in emergency
The bystander effect plays a key role in society today. More and more people ignore a person in distress.
As an employee at Shady Grove State School in Poplar Bluff, Missouri, one is expected to be trained on many different things ranging from verbal intervention to nonviolent crisis prevention. Shady Grove is one of the many MSSD (Missouri Schools for the Severely Disabled) schools throughout the state. Students at any MSSD school can have very violent behaviors at times which is why it is important to be trained on verbal intervention. Students at Shady Grove are no exception. They can become easily frustrated and defensive which could potentially lead to someone being injured. Our goal at Shady Grove is to prevent bodily harm from coming to any individual
Fischer, P., Krueger, J., Greitemeyer, T., Kastenmüller, A., Vogrincic, C., Frey, D., Heene, M., Wicher, M., & Kainbacher, M. (2011). The bystander-effect: A meta-analytic review on bystander intervention in dangerous and non-dangerous emergencies. Psychological Bulletin, 137, 517-537.
Darley, J. M. & Latané, B. (1968) Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 8, 377–383
Stein, David (2013). 27. DOD’s insulting ‘Bystander Intervention Tips”. Website link: http://www.bizpacreview.com/2013/03/21/exclusive-parody-of-dods-insultin-bystander-intervention-tips-56928. Last accessed 17 Dec 2013.