Can I help? Transnational CCTV footage shows that intervention is the norm in public conflicts.

Philpot, R., Liebst, LS, Levine, M., Bernasco, W., and Lindegaard, MR (2020). Can I help? Transnational CCTV footage shows that intervention is the norm in public conflicts. American Psychologist, 75(1), 66-75. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000469

Commentary

Research on bystanders has concluded that individuals are less likely to intervene in an emergency when they are in the presence of others than when they are alone.

In contrast, little is known about the aggregate likelihood that at least someone will do something to help in an emergency.

The importance of establishing this intervention baseline is not only of academic interest, but it is also the most pressing question for actual public victims.

This study provides the largest systematic account of bystander intervention in an actual public conflict captured by surveillance cameras.

Using a unique cross-national video dataset from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and South Africa (N = 219), we find that in nine out of ten public conflicts at least one bystander does something to help.

We documented the likelihood of similar interventions in three national situations with very different levels of public safety awareness.

Finally, we find that increased bystander presence is associated with a greater likelihood that someone will intervene.

Taken together, these findings allay the widespread fear that bystanders rarely intervene to help.