TY - JOUR

T1 - Would I be helped?

T2 - Cross-national CCTV footage shows that intervention is the norm in public conflicts

AU - Philpot, Richard

AU - Liebst, Lasse Suonperä

AU - Levine, Mark

AU - Bernasco, Wim

AU - Lindegaard, Marie Rosenkrantz

PY - 2020

Y1 - 2020

N2 - Half a century of research on bystander behavior concludes that individuals are less likely to intervene during an emergency when in the presence of others than when alone. By contrast, little is known regarding the aggregated likelihood that at least someone present at an emergency will do something to help. The importance of establishing this aggregated intervention baseline is not only of scholarly interest but is also the most pressing question for actual public victims-will I receive help if needed? The current article describes the largest systematic study of real-life bystander intervention in actual public conflicts captured by surveillance cameras. Using a unique cross-national video dataset from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and South Africa (N = 219), we show that in 9 of 10 public conflicts, at least 1 bystander, but typically several, will do something to help. We record similar likelihoods of intervention across the 3 national contexts, which differ greatly in levels of perceived public safety. Finally, we find that increased bystander presence is related to a greater likelihood that someone will intervene. Taken together these findings allay the widespread fear that bystanders rarely intervene to help. We argue that it is time for psychology to change the narrative away from an absence of help and toward a new understanding of what makes intervention successful or unsuccessful. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

AB - Half a century of research on bystander behavior concludes that individuals are less likely to intervene during an emergency when in the presence of others than when alone. By contrast, little is known regarding the aggregated likelihood that at least someone present at an emergency will do something to help. The importance of establishing this aggregated intervention baseline is not only of scholarly interest but is also the most pressing question for actual public victims-will I receive help if needed? The current article describes the largest systematic study of real-life bystander intervention in actual public conflicts captured by surveillance cameras. Using a unique cross-national video dataset from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and South Africa (N = 219), we show that in 9 of 10 public conflicts, at least 1 bystander, but typically several, will do something to help. We record similar likelihoods of intervention across the 3 national contexts, which differ greatly in levels of perceived public safety. Finally, we find that increased bystander presence is related to a greater likelihood that someone will intervene. Taken together these findings allay the widespread fear that bystanders rarely intervene to help. We argue that it is time for psychology to change the narrative away from an absence of help and toward a new understanding of what makes intervention successful or unsuccessful. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

KW - Faculty of Social Sciences

KW - bystander effect

KW - bystander intervention

KW - aggression and violence

KW - dangerous emergencies

KW - helping and prosocial behavior

U2 - 10.1037/amp0000469

DO - 10.1037/amp0000469

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 31157529

VL - 75

SP - 66

EP - 75

JO - American Psychologist

JF - American Psychologist

SN - 0003-066X

IS - 1

ER -