Don’t Just Stand There!
Written By Savvy Auntie Staff Writers
By Jaime Herndon
The “bystander effect” is when the presence of other people prevent an individual from taking action in an emergency or important situation. People who would otherwise help in such a situation fail to act when others are present, usually because each person thinks someone else will take action. It’s been documented extensively, perhaps most famously with the 1964 stabbing of Kitty Genovese.
Now, a new study published in the journal Psychological Science looks at how we become “bystanders” even from a young age. Do children change their level of helpfulness because of shyness when others can see them? Or like adults, are children just as likely to diffuse responsibility, i.e. expect or hope someone else will help instead.
The study found that children as young as five, who were typically very helpful to the experimenter when alone with them, were significantly less likely to help the experimenter if other people were present. However, if the other people were behind a barrier and therefore could not help, but the children could be seen, the children’s response was to be more helpful. That’s how we know that shyness is not a factor for most of the young children in this experiment. Even young kids think someone else will help.
What can we do to encourage nieces and nephews to not assume someone else will help, and thus grow up to be bystanders in an emergency situation? Simple cues from an aunt can influence a child's helpful reaction to small events. For example, if a cup of juice is spilled, a Savvy Auntie can say, "Let's all help Jane clean up! Ava, you grab the paper towels and Jacob, you move all the clean things out of the way." And if a nephew falls down while playing soccer in the backyard, why not say, "Let's all see if we can help Nick and make sure he's OK!"
Published: April 14, 2015
Photo: Voy