Who Were the Bystanders Who Stopped an Assault?

In a knife attack in Traverse City, Michigan, on Saturday afternoon, an intentionally unnamed assailant stabbed 11 victims. As of Sunday, all victims were out of critical condition, according to the hospital treating them. Four victims are in “serious conditions,” and seven victims are in “fair condition,” according to Olivia Pero in an article at The Daily Signal. 

The assailant made his move with a folding knife just before 5:00 p.m. when he began to randomly stab customers at Walmart. One customer said that he saw the assailant slit a woman’s throat. Within about five minutes, a group of customers surrounded the assailant, and one brave soul “tackled and subdued” him until the arrival of the police.

According to Grand Traverse County Sheriff Michael She, the attacks were random and independent of any assistants. FBI personnel were assisting in the investigation.

According to my studies, this group of bystanders is different. Psychologists say that onlookers usually withhold help from those in need and give such action the title of “bystander effect.” Psych Central reported the following: 

In short, the bystander effect is the name given to the phenomenon where people in a group fail to offer help to someone during an emergency, even though they are witnesses to the event.

In fact, research from 2014 suggests that the bigger the group, the less likely it is that anyone will come to help….

This includes some groundbreaking research by John Darley and Bibb Lata Latané.

In a series of experiments, Darley and Latané found that people tend to feel a moral responsibility to help someone in distress if they believe they are the only witnesses. But if they’re surrounded by others, they’re significantly less likely to feel like they have to intervene.

In fact, in 1969, Latané found that while 70% of people would help a woman in distress if they were the only bystander, only 40% would come to her aid if other people were present.

More recently, studies have found that people are less likely to speak up if they witness cyberbullying that takes place in larger online group forums, according to a 2015 review. Examples of the bystander effect [are]:

·         Ignoring bullying or cyberbullying

·         Filming an assault instead of calling 911

·         Assuming someone else will help

·         Walking past a person lying on the street

·         Apathy toward climate change [really!]

Researchers think that there are two group dynamics at work in the bystander effect, which is why we’re less likely to act when we’re surrounded by others.

In a group, we can feel less individual responsibility to help others….

It happens for a simple reason: When we’re in a group, it’s easier to assume that someone else will step up and do something, so we don’t do anything ourselves. This leads to the bystander effect. The problem is, when everyone assumes that someone else will act, no one actually does.

When we’re in a group, we can look to others to decide what is appropriate behavior and what’s not.

So if there is a crisis – and it’s not clear what we should do because of the confusion – we often look at what everyone else is doing to get social cues.

If we don’t see anyone doing anything, we might assume there’s a reason for the inaction and draw a false conclusion that no action is needed….

So what made the onlookers in Michigan act when most would not? Research from 2011 Trusted Source showed that the level of danger could have caused them to intervene.

Why? Well first of all, if the situation is dangerous to you and the victim, you’re more likely to pay attention to what’s going on. And second, in a dangerous situation, being in a group might help you feel more empowered and like you can actually help….

For example, if you see someone attacking another person with a knife and you’re alone, you might be tempted to run away rather than help. But if you’re with a group, you might be more confident that you – and the group as a whole – can stop the knife-wielder if you work together. [Interesting how this random example fits the Michigan scenario exactly.]

The article shared some theories on ways that we can “wake from the bystander effect” and be more like the bystanders in Michigan.  The first suggestion is to know what to do in such a case.

If you’re an onlooker, you’re more likely to feel empowered to intervene if you know strategies to do so safely. Depending on the situation you encounter, you can choose to:

·         Intervene directly

·         Distract the attacker, if there is one

·         Delegate (bring in others to help)

·         Delay (offer follow-up resources and emotional support to the affected)

You can also take steps to be more prepared for emergencies, like taking first aid classes or getting CPR training.

Some psychologists believe that simply being aware of the bystander effect could make us all more likely to react.

After all – if we know it can happen, we might be more determined to make sure we aren’t the ones that stood by and let something horrible occur.

Shame and guilt … can be powerful motivators, so being observed in a group might make you feel like you have to help….

The bystander effect happens more than we’d like, but there are some things we can all do to overcome it and help others – and it all starts with knowing that this phenomenon even exists.