We learned about the audience inhibition effect, pluralistic ignorance, and diffusion of responsibility. I am more skeptical about the audience inhibition effect, but I have seen and heard of other instances where pluralistic ignorance and the diffusion of responsibility have taken place.
During Genovese's attack I believe any of these effects could've taken place - not to say that all of them or any of them did. I learned that there was one couple who pulled up chairs to watch her be attacked and wait for the police (audience inhibition effect) though they did not call the police because they suspected they had already been called (diffusion of responsibility.) Of course I'm sure the tale has been told and retold again and again and has many different spins.
I think it is both about the media and "failure" of bystanders to help. Most of all it's about the murder of a woman.
It wasn't the bystanders' fault - there are certain social standards regarding how we help people. Often we are supposed to keep to ourselves if we are unsure about the situation, which is probably how most people were during Genovese's attack. Privacy is another issue. Many people do not want to get involved in a "domestic dispute," and if they thought it was maybe a couple fighting they would avoid interfering. This paragraph could continue into oblivion.
The most I want to gather from hearing about her murder was that I do NOT want to fall prey to any of the psychological effects that I listed that cripple one's helping ability.
The folks who went back in the 80s and 90s and looked at the witness statements suggest that none of those effects took place in this particular story. Only two people saw a knife. Both called the police. Only a few people understood her to be screaming. Nobody saw the entire attack.
Wikipedia's page is actually a lot closer to the revisions than the original Times story, which is what it used to have years ago when I first looked at it.
During Genovese's attack I believe any of these effects could've taken place - not to say that all of them or any of them did. I learned that there was one couple who pulled up chairs to watch her be attacked and wait for the police (audience inhibition effect) though they did not call the police because they suspected they had already been called (diffusion of responsibility.) Of course I'm sure the tale has been told and retold again and again and has many different spins.
I think it is both about the media and "failure" of bystanders to help. Most of all it's about the murder of a woman.
It wasn't the bystanders' fault - there are certain social standards regarding how we help people. Often we are supposed to keep to ourselves if we are unsure about the situation, which is probably how most people were during Genovese's attack. Privacy is another issue. Many people do not want to get involved in a "domestic dispute," and if they thought it was maybe a couple fighting they would avoid interfering. This paragraph could continue into oblivion.
The most I want to gather from hearing about her murder was that I do NOT want to fall prey to any of the psychological effects that I listed that cripple one's helping ability.
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Wikipedia's page is actually a lot closer to the revisions than the original Times story, which is what it used to have years ago when I first looked at it.
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