Would you help a total stranger? Study finds bystanders WILL come to the rescue ‘nine times out of ten’ to assist someone who is being attacked
- Researchers assessed real-world CCTV footage of 219 arguments and assaults
- Studied real assaults in cities of Lancaster, Amsterdam and Cape Town
- Someone got involved to prevent an attack 91 per cent of the time
- This includes gesturing for an aggressor to calm down, blocking or pulling them away or consoling the victim
Victims of assault and aggressive behaviour can rely on the kindness of strangers to help them, according to a new study.
It found that in more than nine out of ten assaults (91 per cent) there will be at least one bystander who will intervene at some point.
An international team of psychologists studied 219 real-life conflicts captured by CCTV in the cities cities of Lancaster, Amsterdam and Cape Town.
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This image was taken from footage of an assault in Lancaster. It was one example of bystanders intervening in an attack. On the bottom right-hand side, a man dressed in a white shirt assaults another man who is on the ground. Some bystanders observe
The finding overturns the impression of the ‘walk on by society’ and offer hope for the soul of mankind.
It also discovered that a person is more likely to get themselves involved if there are more witnesses around.
Lead author Dr Richard Philpot and colleagues examined unique video recordings and found methods of intervention include gesturing for an aggressor to calm down, blocking or pulling them away or consoling the victim.
Remarkably, the results from the security camera footage were similar across all three countries.
This shows the reaction is ‘universal’ – restoring our faith in human nature, say the researchers.
Dr Philpot said: ‘According to conventional wisdom, non-involvement is the default response of bystanders during public emergencies.
2 To the bottom left-hand side, two bystanders leave their standing positions and approach the conflict parties.
3 The two bystanders are joined by others. A male bystander in a dark shirt and jeans pulls the main aggressor from his target, while a female bystander steps between the conflict parties and extends both arms out in a blocking motion
‘Challenging this view, the current cross-national study of video data shows that intervention is the norm in actual aggressive conflicts.
‘The fact that bystanders are much more active than we think is a positive and reassuring story for potential victims of violence and the public as a whole.
‘We need to develop crime prevention efforts which build on the willingness of bystanders to intervene.’
Half a century of research on the ‘bystander effect’ concludes individuals are less likely to intervene during an emergency when in the presence of others than when alone.
Dr Philpot said: ‘While having more people around may reduce an individual’s likelihood of helping – i.e., the bystander effect – it also provides a larger pool from which help-givers may be sourced.’
The study also found there was no difference in the rates of intervention between the three cities – even though inner city Cape Town is generally perceived to be less safe.
