Bystander Indifference
Bystander indifference is a social psychological situation whereby persons are unable to offer the immediate help to an emergency response especially when in a large group. Several people lack the confidence of assisting others especially during emergency in crowds. The numbers of people that have died for reasons of bystander indifference have increased in the current world. This is basing on the fact that most of the people in crowds fear assisting the suffering patients. The lack of confidence mixture with uncertainty in obtaining back up from the crowd is what makes most people to fear assisting in emergency cases (Nelson, Dunn & Paradies, 2011).
Research conducted by several psychologists such as John Darley and Latane Bibb indicate that the time it will take the distressed person to obtain assistance from people depends on observers present. The fewer the number of the people present during the emergency, is the faster the distressed person will obtain immediate assistance. However, if the group of the observers is increased, the rate of time interval that the distressed individual receives assistance generally increases (Frowe, 2008). This implies that fewer observers in any given emergency case will react faster compared to a situation in which the number of viewers are increased.
One of the key examples of the bystander indifference is indicated in the report written in the Italian newspaper on the date 16th June, 2009. The incident took place in Naples during the month of May on 26th when there occurred a gunfight between several groups. The groups were later identified to belong to famous Camorra. In the course of the fighting, a passerby Roman man who was accompanied by the wife was injured. The Roman man was a well recognized football player and was walking with the wife when he was shot by a stray bullet. After the shooting incidence, the man runs towards the underground station where the wife was capable of seeking assistance from the crowd. The Roman man died at the entrance of the station where people passed by but never gave the wife any sort of attention. The video available in the underground station indicated how people were never bothered in assisting the wife in rescuing the man.
An additional example of the bystander indifference is the situation that is currently being experienced by the citizens in most of the developed nations. In most of the developing nations, there are a number of families that die daily because of lack of food to eat. The death in the number of the families is mainly associated to lack of food, poor health facilities, lack of adequate health and lack of availability of water. Most of the citizens in developing nations lack the access to the basic needs of survival hence end up dying. However, in most developed nations, people spend huge sums of money on buying food staff that they will never eat but leave to rot (Zamzow & Nichols, 2009). Most of the families in developed nations have pets such as dogs and cats that feed better than the dying families in the developing nations. However, although organizations such as UN and UNEP try to get assistance from the developed nations, there are no willing volunteers willing to offer assistance. The dying citizens are displayed on television channels but only a few people are willing to assist (Menesini & Camodeca, 2008).
Other incidents that indicate examples of bystander indifference in the society encompass of lack of assistance in car accidents especially in the highways. Victims of car accidents die while passer by sympathies and do not assist offer any sort of help. Another vital example of the bystander indifference is the murder of Catherine Genovese in the year 1964 (Levine & Cassidy, 2009). Catherine stubbed severally and cried for assistance from the neighbors but no one assisted. None of the people were willing to assist her until she died. One can avoid being bystander indifference contacting the police immediately and having a positive attitude of offering assistance to others.
References
Nelson, J. K., Dunn, K. M. and Paradies, Y. (2011), Bystander Anti-Racism: A Review of the Literature. Analyses of Social Issues and Public Policy, 11: 263–284.
Frowe, H. (2008), Equating Innocent Threats and Bystanders. Journal of Applied Philosophy, 25: 277–290.
Levine, M. and Cassidy, C. (2009) Groups, Identities, and Bystander Behavior, in The Psychology of Prosocial Behavior: Group Processes, Intergroup Relations, and Helping. Wiley-Blackwell, Oxford, UK.
Zamzow, J. L. and Nichols, S. (2009), Variations in Ethical Intuitions. Philosophical Issues, 19: 368–388
Menesini, E. and Camodeca, M. (2008), Shame and guilt as behavior regulators: Relationships with bullying, victimization and prosocial behavior. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 26: 183–196
Hunter, E. (2006), Social engineers and bystanders: the limits of ‘responsibility’ in Indigenous affairs. Journal of Australasian Psychiatry, 14: 24–32.
Nugier, A., Chekroun, P., Pierre, K. and Niedenthal, P. M. (2009), Group membership influences social control of perpetrators of uncivil behaviors. Europe Journal of Sociology and Psychology. 39: 1126–1134.
