Thread: Bystander Effect or ...?

There has been a recent hit and run incident in Asia involving a 2 year old toddler that has spurred much talk online and on some news channels. I figured this might make for a good discussion topic once those who has viewed the video calm themselves emotionally. While the youtube video is spoken in Mandarin, it does have closed captions available.

Warning: Viewer's discretion is advised.

ENG Sub: 2-year-old Chinese toddler run over by two vehicles, ignored by 18 passers-by - YouTube

There has been much talk about bystander effect taking hold of those who have witness the accident and the many pedestrians who have walked on by minding their own business. There has also been talk of a 2006 incident where a district court in Nanking, China; found a good samaritan who had helped an elderly old lady suffering a fall from a stationary bus; liable, and was ordered to compensate a portion of her medical expenses, as being one of the possible reasons why some China citizens are hesitant or unwilling to offer assistance or help.

Is it apathy? The bystander effect? A fear of being wrongfully held responsible or liable for someone else's "problem"?

This little girl has passed away just a few days ago.

I think China's rather schitzophrenic beauracracy is forcing people to adhere exceedingly closely to the obligations for relationships in confucianism. These instruct people to honour five, i think, types of relationship parent, friend, spouse....etc. A stranger doesn't fall into any category and so i suppose out of self-preservation in the face of a ruthless state, people just walk on by. It's a rather horrible glimpse of the effects of an oppressive ideology on a community. I think China is more in the process of recovering from that than anything, though.

Originally Posted by CMR80606

I think China's rather schitzophrenic beauracracy is forcing people to adhere exceedingly closely to the obligations for relationships in confucianism. These instruct people to honour five, i think, types of relationship parent, friend, spouse....etc. A stranger doesn't fall into any category and so i suppose out of self-preservation in the face of a ruthless state, people just walk on by. It's a rather horrible glimpse of the effects of an oppressive ideology on a community. I think China is more in the process of recovering from that than anything, though.

While that maybe a factor there is a more general process at work. The sense of personal responsiblity for another person's problems has been shown to decrease with urbanization. Some controled experiments were done in Denmark a few years ago which involved staging the colapse of an adult on the sidewalk. In small towns nearly everyone stopped to help. In larger cities the percentage of helpers went down. It was iterestingthat when the test was performed in a small town that was in a tourist area, the helpers tended to be the locals or visitors from other small towns. The non helpers were visitors from large cities.

Originally Posted by Sealeaf

<snip> Some controled experiments were done in Denmark a few years ago which involved staging the colapse of an adult on the sidewalk. In small towns nearly everyone stopped to help. In larger cities the percentage of helpers went down. It was iterestingthat when the test was performed in a small town that was in a tourist area, the helpers tended to be the locals or visitors from other small towns. The non helpers were visitors from large cities.

Do you have the study? I'd be interested to know what drives this behaviour. My initial thought was people living in urban areas might tend to be inclined to a parasympathetic response when it comes to strangers. Or maybe community acts as more of a authority in rural people's lives.

Originally Posted by CMR80606

I think China's rather schitzophrenic beauracracy is forcing people

You don't know where the name "bystander effect" comes from? Read this
Murder of Kitty Genovese - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

BTW, I recently rode my downhill bike down an 8,000 ft mountain. I planned to catch the uphill bus, but missed it. I saluted every passsing by pickup truck and about one in a hundred would stop. I finally got only a partial ride and had to cycle 17 horizontal miles and 1,500 vertical feet.

I often see long lines before chairlifts. When skiers get their turn to board, only two and, sometimes, even one skier take the bench which is designed for four.