Your textbook presents an overview of the Kitty Genovese case (p. 482). In 1964, Genovese was returning home from her job at 3:20 A.M. when a man attacked her near her apartment in a middle–class residential area. Despite her pleas for help, only one man shouted from his apartment building for the attacker to leave her alone. Lights in various apartments shut off and no one came to her assistance. The attacker returned several times and ultimately stabbed Genovese to death. It wasn’t until 3:50 A.M. that someone finally called the police. Investigators later learned that 38 people actually witnessed the murder, yet none came to her assistance. Why? One explanation is the bystander effect. According to this concept, if other people are present (or imagined to be present) during a situation, helping behavior declines. Perhaps people think to themselves, “Let someone else get involved.” Or “Look at all these people. Surely someone will call the police or step in to help.” The bystander effect in situations like the Kitty Genovese case can be fatal, but this behavior is present on a daily basis (e.g., bullying at school, co–worker conflict) and can have significant impact on others.

Locate a video on YouTube that addresses the bystander effect. Make sure to find a video that illustrates the bystander effect, not one that simply presents an expert describing what the concept is.

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