The Murder of Kitty Genovese and Taking Risks

      In 1964 a pretty nasty incident occurred. Catherine Susan "Kitty" Genovese was walking from the dark alley where she had parked her car to her apartment, when a man attacked and stabbed her. She managed to escape after being seriously injured, stumbled away towards the apartment, was stopped from entering the building by a locked door, and was caught and once again stabbed by her attacker, and didn't survive the ordeal.
   

          The interesting thing about this tragedy is that in original reports, it was stated that many neighbors were aware of the attack, but strangely, none did anything about it. Although these reports were later proved inaccurate, it inspired a vast amount of psychological experiments that all came to the same conclusion: the more witnesses, the less likely each one is to help. This has been dubbed both "the bystander effect" and "Genovese Syndrome". But why is there a bystander effect? Why does more really equal less when it comes to seeking help? It's because everyone takes social cues from each other. 

          If a person falls down in the street, and you walk by, you might think to yourself, "Oh no! That person could be having a seizure or a heart attack or something. Maybe I should help them. But they could just have tripped over a shoelace or something, then it's not that important." You might look around and see if there's anyone else nearby. If there isn't anyone else, all responsibility falls on you and you're much more likely to think, "What if it is a seizure? I should check just in case." If there are lots of people though, not only does that diffuse responsibility, but you'll look for social cues from them. No one else seems worried, so you relax. The reason no one else is worried is because they're thinking the same thing and taking social cues from you. 

          The same thing goes for reaching out to other people. I know a lot of people who are scared of being open. Sometimes I'm scared of being open. But sometimes you've just got to be that person who breaks away and reaches out, because chances are, that other person is wanting to reach out to you, but taking social cues from your apparent apathy. Don't be afraid to try talking to someone, and if you're feeling doubtful, keep this Mark Twain quote in mind- “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you did not do than the things you did do." This also has been proven by psychological studies, so don't be afraid to try reaching out to people. If they reject your hand, their loss. If not... You just beat the Genovese Syndrome.