Pro-Social Behavior

Paper Summary:

This paper presents the facts regarding the murder of Kitty Genovese in New York City in 1964. The paper explains that this murder prompted many social psychologists to consider the nature of emergency helping behavior, since thirty-eight of Genovese's neighbors witnessed the attack without intervening. The paper identifies five elements that determine whether a person will offer assistance in an emergency situation. These conditions are: 1) the event must be noticed by the bystander; 2) it must be interpreted as an emergency by the bystander; 3) the individual must take personal responsibility for offering assistance; 4) the bystander must know how to help; and 5) he or she must be able to implement the decision to offer aid.

From the Paper:

"In the case of Kitty Genovese in New York City, interviews with the witnesses after the fact showed that everyone noticed the emergency. (Smetana et al., 1983). Since the young woman was attacked and murdered in the middle of the night, in most cases, neighbors were awoken and some even stayed by their windows for the duration of the attack, which lasted almost an hour. (Smetana et al., 1983)
Having noticed an emergency in the first place, the second condition that determines emergency helping behavior, according to Darley and Latane is the correct interpretation. If the event is not interpreted as an emergency, then no help will be offered. One aspect of this correct interpretation is correct perception. Bystanders have to know that what they are witnessing is an emergency. If gunshots are misinterpreted as a car backfiring, then there will be no perception of an emergency, and no bystander intercession."

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