Why Do Bystanders Help or Not Help Strangers in Need?

Psy 100 Class Activity 11-11-03

Social Psychologists are interested in understanding a specific type of social behavior called “bystander intervention.” Bystander intervention refers to how people respond to situations in which a stranger may need help. Will people help or won’t they? What are the factors that make it more or less likely that a person will help a stranger? These are the types of questions social psychologist want to answer. 

Today—you become social psychologists. All of the scenarios you read involve a stranger in need of help. You made a list of factors you think may influence a bystander to help or not help in each scenario. Now it is time to work with your group to develop a more systematic and comprehensive explanation for bystander intervention.

The purposes of this activity are to develop your understanding of this type of social behavior and to engage you in a type of psychological thinking in which you try to figure out what causes people to help or not help strangers.

By the end of class today, your group will develop a set of factors that you think influence bystander intervention.

Directions

Your goal is to identify a set of factors that may influence bystander intervention. Last week you thought of specific reasons why a person might help or not help in a specific situation. Now, you will examine these reasons—looking for similarities among them—in order to produce more general factors or categories.

For example, below are several specific reasons students gave for why a person would help or not help a person in need

·       will help if the woman is attractive

·       will help if the man looks friendly

·       won’t help if the man looks mean

·       won’t help if the woman looks unattractive

Physical appearance is the characteristic common to all of these responses. So, “physical appearance of the person in need” may be one factor that determines bystander intervention.

Your group should try to develop a set of factors that account for your responses to the seven scenarios. In other words, when you are done you should be able to categorize all the responses to the scenarios (well—almost all—some might not fit anywhere).

Getting started

I. First take 5 minutes to discuss the handout, “Bystander Intervention Scenarios.” As you see, there are two versions of each scenario (Form A and Form B). Compare the two versions of each scenario, and identify the key difference between version A and B. The key characteristic may be a factor that determines bystander intervention. This will help you get started—but these are not the only factors.

II. Next, focus on scenario 1. Be sure to look at both versions of the scenario—A and B. Look at your group members’ responses to the scenarios. Be sure you discuss the responses so that you are clear as to what they mean. If you aren’t clear, the author should try to clarify the meaning of the response. Try to create factors (i.e., categories) for all the responses to the first scenario. Again—to identify a general factor look for common characteristics among the individual responses.   

When you complete your list of factors based on the first scenario call me over to your group so I can check your progress and answer any questions.

Now that you have a few general factors to start with, you can move on to the other scenarios. Try to fit the responses into your existing categories. Develop additional factors as needed until you have examined as many responses as possible in the time allotted.

After about 30 minutes of working on the scenarios I will ask each group to make an overhead transparency and a paper copy of your categories.

III. Use the format below to prepare an overhead transparency and a paper copy of your factors. Give a clear descriptive name for each factor and then give at least three examples of responses that fit the category. However, you may discover a category you want to include even though you can’t think of examples—it is okay to include these factors  

IV. Class Discussion of your categories. Each group will have an opportunity to present their set of factors to the class. Be prepared to explain your factors.

V. Analysis of the Bystander Intervention Model. In your small group examine the handout, “Bystander Intervention Model.” Follow the directions and write a group summary that explains how your factors fit into the Bystander Intervention Model.  

VI. Predicting bystander intervention. 

At the end of class each group should hand in 1) your overhead transparency, 2) paper copy of the factors you developed, and 3) your summary of