Bystander Effect

This is really fascinating read. Click HERE to know what I'm talking about.

One lesson I got from this is: More doesn't mean better.
In one of the videos about the child getting kidnapped I was so touched with what the two young man did. Imagine seeing a kid screaming for help and not doing anything. How horrible!
Is society REALLY like that?


I seriously hope not. Research and studies on human behavior can sometimes provide a pattern or a system of the human behavior but I believe its not permanent. We can always break out of this system. We just need to be conscious of what we do.
Its not simple but I believe in it.
People don't automatically fall into the bystander effect. It's just scary how we (in general) like to leave the responsibility to other people.

In my class there was once a case where my lecturer told the students at the back row to send a representative to come down and get some papers to distribute to the group of students who sit at the back. This would require only ONE student to come down. Yet the decision made for ONE student to volunteer to come down took more than 5 minutes. Imagine the exasperation. My lecturer actually yelled "What? ARE YOU DEAF? I said COME DOWN TO GET THE PAPER!!!!!" Do you see what happened? The students in the back row assumes that someone other than themself would go down to get the papers and in the end no one made a move. Only when my lecturer yelled did some students begin to move.

Its really exasperating! A decision that could be made within miliseconds turned to 5 minutes just because everyone in the back assume someone would do it. And this was a simple decision to make. Just stand up and go. It's not like they had to save someone or jump in a river or something. So imagine if you saw a person drowning. How many minutes do you think you'll take if there were other bystanders with you? I think by the time you made a decision the person would have already drowned.

I find human psychology my favourite study. I recommend others who like this field to read BLINK. BLINK is a book written by Malcolm Gladwell delving into the topic of human psychology in cases where we have to make snap judgement. The power of thinking without thinking. Somewhere along the lines of your subconscious mind.

How often do you find yourself regretting over what you did? Or maybe thinking why you did such a thing? Maybe you didn't have much time to think over what you did. Or maybe you just did what first came to mind.

Blink underlines studies on stereotyping, preconceptions and the effect of pressure or duress towards our actions and our decisions.

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One really interesting case in the book caught my interest.
"Tragedy on Wheeler Avenue"

4 police men driving by a neighbourhood late at night came across a young black man. They were driving pass and so they couldn't see him well. One thing they noticed other than the fact he was black, was that he was a small man. What does small mean? - It means he's got a gun. -
Its 12:30 in the morning and he's alone in a lousy neighbourhood. The preconception -he's got a gun.
The policemen believe that if he was alone in that neighbourhood he wouldn't dare come outside his apartment alone. Therefore, they believed him to have a gun. Or else where did he get the bravery to come out alone? (THIS is not fact. They just came up with this reasoning not based on any solid information but on their own belief that if he's black and in a lousy neighbourhood in the late hours it means he has a gun. I know this sounds irrational but if you were the police wouldn't you think so too? Try ask yourself and picture yourself in their shoes before you judge them.)
They stopped the car, 2 police came out and called out to the man, "Police. Can we have a word?"
The man panicked; terror was written all over his face. Why wouldn't he be afraid? 2 big white man are coming towards him at that late an time, so he ran. Now this then turns into a pursuit.
Here's another fact: The policemen are new to the neighbourhood AND new to the street crime unit.
Guess what happens during the pursuit?
The police men's heart rate soars. The pressure is on and they don't know how to handle it.
The man turns sideways upon reaching his apartment door and digs something in his pocket.
AND all hell breaks loose.
"He's got a gun!" And they began shooting.
After 41 bullets were shot, the boss went to the body and checks it.
"Where's the fucking gun!?"
One police officer runs up the street and another sits next to the bullet-ridden body and starts to cry.

This story from the book underlines the dangers of our preconceptions and stereotype.
The policemen saw that he was a black man in a lousy neighbourhood and came up with the conclusion that the man had a gun. You might think that this situation happened for probably more than 10 minutes. Fact is that it happened in a few seconds. Around 1000 seconds but these few seconds were enough steps and decisions to fill a lifetime.

Other books by Malcolm Gladwell are Tipping Point and Outliers. I got them both but have yet to read them.
Hope you'll read them too. (Here's another link to a review on BLINK)

And one last link which i find interesting...

Chao~!

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