The Bystander Effect

      The bystander effect is when humans do not take action when another person appears to be in distress. I have witnessed this lack of human response when I was in high school. I experienced a physical altercation between two of my school mates. There were a lot of students there but no one did anything to stop it, including myself. Many of the students were encouraging the fight. Even though the fight lasted about a minute or so there seemed to be no reaction to the situation by any of the students after the fight was completed.    
      Culture has had a big influence on how people react to different situations. For example, when a nurse asks a Mexican to cough during an examination they will not because to them coughing is a sign of disrespect. But in America culture coughing is common during a physical examination.
       Researchers have found that in any given distress situation only a few people will react and that the majority will not. The others think that someone else can help out or they are afraid to get involved or it interrupts their life to much. I was thinking about being late to my next class and afraid for my own safety so I backed away wishing that they would just get it over with.
      Other researchers have proposed factors may influence the bystander effect. They stated that people are more likely to help in a situation if they feel more connected to the person, or if the person in distress is very attractive or they have positive feelings towards the person involved. The bystander effect is very real and explains why people can be asking for help, but no one in the crowd steps forward.