1. Explain Darley and Latane's "diffusion of responsibility effect" in the Kitty Genovese case and find a similar case from the newspaper in which bystanders were involved and did nothing. Summarize the other case and provide your personal response to the story. Be sure and cite your source.
The "diffusion of responsibility effect" is basically when bystanders in a group see a person is in distress and don't do anything to try to help the person or intervene in a situation where they are being harmed. They say this is because when you're in a group you think to yourself "Oh someone else will do it" however everyone seems to say that to themselves and nothing is done to help the victim. In the Kitty Genovese case, 38 bystanders watched her while someone stalked her and brutally murdered her and yet did nothing about it, they didn't even call the police. I found a similar but not as serious case except it involved guards watching a fight between two teenage girls, "over and over, one girl kicks another in the head as she lies on her back on a transit station platform. The girl on the ground is not moving as the other girl steps away and then returns to stomp her head one more time. In the middle of it all stand security guards. They call for support but do not intervene." the article then goes on to make excuses as to why the guards didn't intervene and shouldn't intervene but what if the victim was murdered? There comes a time when people need to stop assuming and start acting. It's ridiculous to hear that people can sit and watch someone be physically harmed or murdered and yet not do anything about it. I understand the safety issues, however even just calling the cops or if the 40 people rose up together against the murderer or even said something, Kitty could have been saved. It just comes down to doing the right thing instead of acting like it's not your problem, you never know if you'll be in a similar situation one day.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C05E1D61231F931A25751C0A9669D8B63&scp=4&sq=bystanders%20don't%20intervene&st=cse
2. Darley and Latane cite social critics who believe that the United States has become a nation of strangers, alienated and withdrawn from one another. Write a response refuting this claim by summarizing one good Samaritan story from the news in which bystanders did react in a crisis to help someone out. Also, draw on your own or others' experience. Be sure and cite your source for your news story.
Although there are occasions where people assume and intervene when they should, there are many other occasions where people do just the opposite... they put their needs aside, stop assuming, and ACT. For instance in January a man ran into an elderly woman on an airplane who was in need of a wheel chair and who was also late for her next flight and having one of the worst days of her life. Most people would be like "Oh well not my problem" and would just go on with their days. However, Dean Germeyer helped helped the 79-year-old not only find a wheelchair, but rushed her to her connecting flight which happened to be cancelled. After finding this out he helped her rebook a flight, took her out to dinner, and paid for a hotel for her to stay in over night. He even arranged a car for her back to the airport the next morning. I believe this act of kindness is even more powerful than if someone were to intervene in a violent crime because a violent crime would/could be considered an emergency to everyone around and yet this woman was in no eminent danger but just severely lost and anxcious and Dean still took the time to help her in more ways than one. Other examples of good samaritans are the people who helped in 9/11, weren't the people who caused the plane to crash in Pennsylvania instead of the white house heroes? And what about all of the people who died in the collapse of the towers while trying to assist the people who were trapped inside? I believe there's still good people in this world who are willing and able to help anyone in need.
http://abcnews.go.com/WN/dean-germeyer-helped-elsie-clark-missed-chicago-flight/story?id=9496380
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ReplyDeleteTimothy Milne Blog 1 Reply #1
ReplyDeletehey Brittany, i like your explanation of the "diffusion of responsibility". it is very important to note the fact that people have the "someone else will do it" mentality, which is really the cause of this phenomena. However, toward the end of your comments about the example you found, when you say that if the 40 people had done something, nothing would have happened, there is always a chance that the event was inevitable. In almost every situation, there is a chance that even if someone does try to intervene, nothing may change, but maybe even make things worse. great post.