It also seems worth noting that this study looked at whether people intervened in aggressive public conflicts, which is a type of situation where the bystander’s safety could be at risk and there can be safety in numbers. A lone bystander intervening in a fight is at higher risk of getting hurt, compared to a group of 10 bystanders acting together. This factor doesn’t exist (or is much weaker) in situations like “does anyone stop to see if the person lying on the ground needs medical help” or “does anyone notify the authorities about the smoke which might indicate a fire emergency.” So I’d be cautious about generalizing to those sorts of situations.
It also seems worth noting that this study looked at whether people intervened in aggressive public conflicts, which is a type of situation where the bystander’s safety could be at risk and there can be safety in numbers. A lone bystander intervening in a fight is at higher risk of getting hurt, compared to a group of 10 bystanders acting together. This factor doesn’t exist (or is much weaker) in situations like “does anyone stop to see if the person lying on the ground needs medical help” or “does anyone notify the authorities about the smoke which might indicate a fire emergency.” So I’d be cautious about generalizing to those sorts of situations.
Thank you!!
(And I guess I’ve learned to not trust Hacker News headlines even if they have 245 karma.)