Would I be helped? Cross-national CCTV footage shows that intervention is the norm in public conflicts
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Would I be helped? Cross-national CCTV footage shows that intervention is the norm in public conflicts. / Philpot, Richard; Liebst, Lasse Suonperä; Levine, Mark; Bernasco, Wim; Lindegaard, Marie Rosenkrantz.
In: American Psychologist, Vol. 75, No. 1, 2020, p. 66-75.Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
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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 -
ID: 214571814