Bystander Intervention Essay

Improved Essays
Although numerous people debate over whether bystanders shouldn’t intervene, there are countless people who support the claim that they should. Why? Because it is quicker for someone to intervene rather than to wait for the authorities, stopping a current action while it’s happening can stop future actions, and the power of using your voice can impact not just the conflict, but all in all character growth.

As a fight breaks out, the first concept some people expect to do call the police. People assume the police are the quickest way to stop a conflict. Although Is it truly the quickest way? Now, while calling the police may resolve the conflict in the end, they won’t stop what’s happening in the moment. It is quicker for someone to intervene
…show more content…
Also, victims can only think about how they wish someone would intervene in times of distress. All in spite of while the situation gains intensity, victims wait for the bystander to arrange a move, over the importance of a bystander intervening before the police arrive can determine life or death. For instance, according to writer Lou Michel, bystander Brenden Seny used his seat belt to tie a tourniquet (a device that helps to stop bleeding) around a child named Nate’s leg after he was hit by an intoxicated driver. This then stopped the bleeding and saved his life. “The young man could have bled out right there on the street if he hadn’t been assisted right then and there.” (Michel). Michel also states how the ambulance took 15 minutes to arrive, which then would have been too late. This Indicates that if a bystander wouldn’t have intervened, Kahn would have bled out and died. Another reason why having someone intervene than calling the police or the authorities is better is that at times, police don’t do the job they …show more content…
Occasionally, fights can turn out critical and result in serious injury, or death. Given the opportunity, majority of people wouldn’t intervene. Article 6 Reasons why Bystanders Choose Not to Intervene to Stop Bullying tells us that various people are scared that they’ll be next or they don’t know what to do to cause it stop, which doesn’t effect the situation. (Sam). Although this might be true in some cases, not helping can result in death. For instance, on Fox 32, a reporter states that a man was attacked and left to die for his wallet. Bystanders observed this happen and did nothing. This is why bystanders need to intervene while they can or it might be too late. Taking on bigger problems, Syrians ask for help to prevent further conflict and try to adopt new ideas to stop wars so they can stop conflict before hand. Across Syria, people struggle with poverty, starvation, and more important, war. Individuals now have the responsibility to intervene attacks and protect citizens, (Kako). Other countries must assemble to do this though. Creating a protective system made out of individuals can stop further war. (Kako). Coming together as a community to help each other and form a protective army-like system can stop further war crimes and stop attacks all together, preventing death. Also, adults talking with students about bullying can stop a current action and save someone’s

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In the article by Martin Gansberg, “37 Who Saw Murder Didn’t Call the Police,” bystanders attempt to explain themselves. Does witnessing someone else's distress and possessing the capability to help consider the witness involved? “ ‘I didn’t want to get involved,’ he sheepishly told the police.” A witness that can help is involved, they could save the person’s life, but chooses not too. Therefore, this excuse of not getting involved is no where near justified as they were already involved.…

    • 267 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    This case became very famous 50 years later because it has been reported into the New York Times as an article to explain that 37 neighbors witnessed were present during the attack but didn’t call the police to help the victim.("What Is the Bystander Effect?") This case was lately used as an example to explain the phenomenon of the bystander effect as well known as the diffusion of responsibility. Psychologist began to find an explanation to this effect Hermant…

    • 646 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    When we witness a noticeably bad action occurringhappen, we as people are faced with a fundamental decision. Do we avoid the problem or stand up and take action. All too frequently individuals make the conscious choice to remain a "bystander", separating themselves from the problems of others. Whether it be to remain part of a group, garner acceptance, avoid being targeted, for self-preservation, or simply for convenience, the conscious choice of inaction is a common occurrence. In literature, including The Ox-Bow Incident, Ted Talk: Violence Against Women; It’s a Men’s Issue, and A Busybody’s Guide to Improving the World, numerous examples are noted of what people do when faced with the choice of taking action or doing nothing, and the unintended…

    • 1748 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Bystander Apathy Effect

    • 190 Words
    • 1 Pages

    Bystander Apathy and Effect Bystander Apathy means is a social psychological phenomenon that refers to cases in which individuals do not offer any means of help to a victim when other people are present. In other words, the more bystanders, the less likely that none of them will help that person in distress. If there were a few or any other witnesses, they feel as much pressured to take action. When others don’t take action at all and others feel the need not to do anything either. The consequences of being a bystander are when it comes to what happened to the innocent victim (Wikipedia Contributors).…

    • 190 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Moreover, someone can also be evaluated as a bystander if they are aware of an incident that will take place in the near future and do not try to impede it. “According to this point of view, when bystanders are in a position to save human life or prevent a victim’s suffering, but do not, then they are in fact guilty for the victim’s fate,” stated in the same article by the The New York Times…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Have you ever watched a movie where the enemy has injured a character and you watch as the character dies and you just sit there wondering, “why didn't anyone help them?” If you saw a two year old girl laying in the street, bleeding to death from being ran over twice, would you help her? “Yeah I’d help her.” You think to yourself while you sit there, alone, without someone there to influence you.…

    • 587 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Four more students on Northwest’s campus are now officially trained in bystander intervention following last Wednesday’s Green Dot Bystander Certification training. Northwest Green Dot Coordinator Danielle Koonce describes Green Dot as the University’s violence prevention initiative or strategy that is focused on how bystanders can intervene to stop or interrupt violence. September 20 marked the first of three certification courses to be held during the fall semester and was hosted by Koonce, with the help of University Wellness Center Counselor Courtney Koch. Both are members of Northwest’s Green Dot Team. Koonce says that the program was launched in the spring of 2016 at the University and about 150 students have been certified since.…

    • 591 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Violence and crime in this world now a days are through the roof of the tallest building to stand on this earth. People are scared to help as in bystanders to the crime being committed. Some might be nervous to help the victim or victims because of law enforcement retaliation, or just do not want to help. Bystanders should have the right to safely intervene in crimes they see!…

    • 530 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The bystander effect refers to the scenarios where those who are in need of help in a case of an emergency are not provided with it when their in presence of other people. This is a social psychological occurrence that conventionally, it is found to have an inverse relationship that has a great deal of affect on the probability of the percentage of bystanders that will intervene and help if the numbers of the other bystanders. . Psychologist refer to it as ' Diffusion of responsibly' which involves ambiguity and cohesiveness. This is usually as when in the presence of other witnesses the bystander will identify the emergency situation as handled by assuming that someone else has reported the incident of is helping in another form, therefore…

    • 489 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    She was attacked in the alley of an apartment complex in Queens, New York, in 1964. There were 38 of the apartment residents either saw the attack from the windows or heard her scream for help, but no one attempted to help in the 45 minutes long attack (Aronson, 21). There are some barriers of helping will stop bystanders to help like shyness or fear of negative evaluation from others, and bystander effect is also one of the barriers. Bystander effect is defined as “the finding that the greater the number of bystanders who witness an emergency, the less likely any one of them is to help” (315). To better interpret the bystander effect, Latane and Darley (1970) developed a five-step description for how do people decide whether to help in an emergency: notice the event, interpret the event as an emergency, assume responsibility, know appropriate form of assistance, and implement decision (Aronson, 23).…

    • 1641 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The hypothesis based on the findings of Latane and Darley (1968) that as the number of participants increased, help would become less likely was somewhat supported. The results in the graph Percentage of people who helped/did not help highlighted that the bystander effect occurred as the smallest group size had the highest help rate of 100%, and the percentage of participants who helped in the group of 19 was higher than that of the group of 35, 10.5% and 2.90% respectively. However, the groups of 3 and 10 did not support the hypothesis as they had a help rate of 0. The bystander effect model developed by Lantane and Darley (1970) explains the results in the graph Percentage of people who helped/ did not help.…

    • 999 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Literature Review on the Bystander Effect It is said that when more bystanders are around, the chance a victim in need will not get the help they need right away. Many people…

    • 1539 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hurtful Bystander Essay

    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages

    They could be pressured into participating in the bullying, worry about talking to someone about it, feel powerless, become victimized, or feel guilty for not helping (Education Development Center, 2008). These are reasons, other than the fact that they are helping someone, are why bystanders should always do whatever they can to stop bullying. Page 46: Adult: “Here is how to be a helpful bystander” Children can be prepared to be helpful bystanders. Adults can help by telling kids some safe ways to become a helpful bystander and assuring them that they will be supported. They can also tell the children how important it is to be a helpful bystander (Education Development Center, 2008).…

    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Darley and Latané (1968) thought that people fail to help due to the bystander effect, where the failure to help is the result of the situation. Darley and Latané’s (1970) theoretical model aimed to explain the underlying reasons to why the bystander effect occurred, and why people sometimes fail to help. There have been other explanations regarding the occurrence of prosocial behaviour such as the bystander-calculus model, reciprocal altruism, social exclusion and mood states which will be discussed in this essay. Darley and Latané’s (1968) study is a classic psychological paper, that is renowned for the phenomenon known as the bystander effect. The bystander effect is that the more people that are present in an emergency situation the number…

    • 1513 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The research doesn’t surprise me, however, the case of Catherine Genovese (p. 288) does. Even after reading the chapter, it’s still hard to believe no one at least called the police. It does make sense that confusion will often cause people to not act. Kenrick, Neuberg, & Cialdini (2015), state that, Observers fail to help not so much because they are unkind as because they are unsure. They are often unsure of whether helping is appropriate.…

    • 1066 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays