What's the term from psychology (possibly criminology, or both) that refers to the 'phenomenon' of group indifference? It's usually applied to the case of a woman (Kitty somebody?) being murdered (I think in the '50s) with many witnesses, none of whom called for help or anything because they all thought someone else probably would.

serpa

Catherine Susan Genovese (July 7, 1935[1] – March 13, 1964), commonly known as Kitty Genovese, was a New York City woman who was stabbed to death near her home in the Kew Gardens section of Queens, New York on March 13, 1964. Many saw the story of Genovese's murder as an example of the callousness or apathy supposedly prevalent in New York among other larger cities in the United States, or humanity in general. The lack of reaction of numerous neighbors watching the scene prompted research into diffusion of responsibility and the bystander effect. Social psychologists John Darley and Bibb Latané started this line of research, showing that contrary to common expectations, larger numbers of bystanders decrease the likelihood that someone will step forward and help a victim. The reasons include the fact that onlookers see that others are not helping either, that onlookers believe others will know better how to help, and that onlookers feel uncertain about helping while others are watching. The Kitty Genovese case thus became a classic feature of social psychology textbooks. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kitty_Genovese Jan 20 11, 6:37 PM

theduck220

There are two terms that relate to this, both describing the same thing. One is the bystander effect, and the other is diffusion of responsibility. The bystander effect more accurately describes the situation you are describing. The murder victim was Kitty Genovese, and some people refer to the bystander effect as Genovese syndrome. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kitty_Genovese Jan 20 11, 6:43 PM

serpa

The bystander effect or Genovese syndrome is a social psychological phenomenon that refers to cases where individuals do not offer help in an emergency situation when other people are present. The probability of help has in the past been thought to be inversely related to the number of bystanders; in other words, the greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is that any one of them will help. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect Jan 20 11, 6:47 PM

guitargoddess

Yes, 'bystander effect'! That's what I was trying to recall, thanks :) Jan 20 11, 7:43 PM

kathieinmex

This is Kathieinmex. I live in Georgia now, but that's not the point. I just revisited some details about this case (I grew up in NY & remember it well. It sems that the whole 'bystander effect' in this particular instance DID NOT HAPPEN! The first attack was witnessed by a few; they thought it was spousal abuse because Kitty got up after a few minutes and moved out of the view of those who were up. No one actually witnessed the second attack, because it was done out of view of the few people who were still up and looking out their windows. However, there is no denying the validity of the 'bystander effect.' I just wanted to correct a few decades-old misconceptions. Jan 20 11, 10:20 PM