Chapter 10 Social Psychology

1
Chapter 10 Social Psychology

• Title To Help or Not to Help
• Authors J.M. Darley and B. Latane (1968)
• Presented by Kelley Reinhardt
• May 5, 2004

2
History of the Study-

• The Kitty Genovese Tragedy (1964).
• This story made national headlines after a young
  woman was viciously attacked in a Queens
  neighborhood. Neighbors did not respond or reach
  out to help her. Perhaps, they feared getting
  involved. This resulted in a terrible death for
  Miss Genovese.
• This unfortunate event is rather well known and
  has been used as worthy material to be discussed
  in psychology and sociology classes.

3
Why did Society allow this to Happen??

• Was it because it happened in New York?
• Was it because of the neighborhood?
• Or simply because of human nature?
• Psychologists became quite interested in this
  idea and sought to investigate peoples behaviors
  in such events.

4
Behavioral psychologists may examine the
following behaviors

• Pro- Social Behavior produces positive results.
  Some examples of this are cooperation and
  assisting others. These are widely accepted and
  appreciated in our culture.

• Bystander Intervention this occurs when someone
  may help another person in need. Most often this
  person is a stranger. However, in Miss
  Genovese's case this was not performed. Did she
  loose her life due to the lack of human
  compassion and concern?

5
John Darley and Bibb LataneNew York University
and Columbia University.

• Both psychologists were interested in this
  phenomenon and decided to conduct their own
  study.
• First, they determined human beings may not be
  faced with as many emergencies as thought. This
  is both positive and negative.
• What was the last emergency you had to deal
  with??
• What would you do in case you were faced with an
  emergency involving another person??

6
A PropositionIf there is a larger group of
people at a scene, chances are there is least
likely someone willing to help. However, if
someone is alone, it is very possible, they will
be more willing to be of assistance.
7
Diffusion of responsibility

• The notion someone else will take care of it,
  call the Police, or the ambulance.
• I do not want to be responsible!

8
The Method-

• New York University students were questioned
  about their adjustment to college life. They
  were allowed to speak with other students
  privately over an intercom system while in
  different rooms.
• Of course, this was simply a cover to discover
  natural behavior.
• The students were divided into three groups.
• Group one thought they were speaking with just
  another student.
• Group two thought they were speaking with two
  other students.
• Group three thought they were speaking with five
  other students.
• Realistically, none of this was true!!

9
The Method-

• An emergency had to be staged. Therefore a
  student was going to experience a seizure as he
  had expressed through the intercom how they can
  be a common occurrence for him.
• The students responses to this was going to be
  measured. Will they help and alarm the
  researcher of what was happening? The students
  were given a time limit to respond to the
  situation.
• The student subjects had four minutes to respond
  to the emergency.

10
The Results-

• The study showed a definite link to the
  researchers hypothesis. If more people were
  believed to be in the same room, the delay time
  was longer.
• The first group responded in less then one
  minute, while the third group responded in over
  three minutes.
• It was shown in percentages how the response time
  varied among the three groups. The third group
  having the lowest amount of responders within the
  four minutes.

11
Discussion-

• Did the students not care about what was
  happening to the victim? Not necessarily.
• The second and third group displayed signs of
  uneasiness and anxiety when the emergency was
  happening. The student subjects were lead to
  believe there were more people present leading to
  the idea of social influence. People may rely on
  others and act differently in a large, group
  setting.
• People could place the blame on someone else if
  they do not pursue any further action.
• Its not my fault, let them deal with it. I
  do not want to do something wrong.

12
Discussion-

• Evaluation Apprehension Darley and Latane
  stated how at times we may be afraid of what
  others may say when we try to help. People do
  not want to face feeling embarrassed or naïve in
  terms of a crisis situation.
• Maybe it is not really an emergency. Are they
  really hurt? I do not want to be blamed for
  doing something wrong. I certainly do not want
  to get hurt. These may be some thoughts people
  have in mind relating to this idea.

13
How Important is This?

• Darley and Latane have become leaders in this
  field. They illustrate how there is five steps
  one may follow before stepping into a unknown
  situation
• The potential helper must acknowledge the actual
  event.
• Is help necessary here? Can the event be
  interpreted appropriately?
• Personal responsibility exists if there is only
  one or more people at a given scene, but as the
  group grows in size, diffusion of responsibility
  settles among the group.
• What action should be taken?
• Once this is decided, hopefully it will be done.
  Depending on the situation, this will influence
  the final decision.

14
Further Findings-

• In both the Kitty Genovese case and the research
  study, the people involved did not have contact
  with one another. If people could communicate
  with one another, would they be more willing and
  able to help?
• Regardless, Darley and Latane felt otherwise.
  They felt they would not help anymore, especially
  if the situation was ambiguous.

15
Social Comparison

• The idea of seeing what others responses will be
  when in close contact with them. An example
  being is when in a room with others and one
  person notices a smoke like substance coming from
  an vent. They may question themselves,
  especially if there is no other responses. Is it
  really smoke or just my imagination? I will wait
  to see what that person is going to do. This may
  be a common response from someone.

16
A Later Study-

• This was conducted by the same researchers.
  Again psychology students were interviewed about
  their college experiences. The students were
  broken down into similar groups as previously.
  This time they were given a questionnaire in a
  room. Fake smoke began to enter the room through
  a vent. It was to be tested again to determine
  how long it would take for the students to report
  the problem. The theory was supported with
  similar results. The students in the larger
  groups were the least likely to report the smoke
  to someone.
• The authors essential findings lead to other
  topics.

17
Further Research-

• Darley and Latanes model of steps can be applied
  to school bullying. OConnell, Pepler, and
  Craig, 1999). Most of the time, the children
  watch the bullying take place. They did not
  attempt to stop the action. Is this a fear of
  rejection??
• However, girls were most likely to intervene,as
  well as younger boys.
• It is crucial to educate all the children about
  this alarming problem occurring on school
  playgrounds.

18
Conclusion-

• The research findings although negative are
  essential to attempt to rationalize human
  behavior and eventually alter it.
• If people are aware of the bystander effect,
  perhaps they might be more willing to help.
• A lesson to be learned Do not assume others
  will help, act as if everything was up to you!!!!

19
(No Transcript)