If you are the victim of a crime, or in some other trouble, and you happen to be surrounded by a gawking crowd suffering from bystander effect, the trick is to encourage decisions that will get you help.
When we see an incident, we automatically fall into a five-step pattern of analysis. We notice something odd, and decide if it is an emergency. If it is an emergency, we have to decide if we are responsible. If we decide we are, we decide how to help. Then we offer that help.
If you are a victim, the first obstacle is to ensure everyone knows you are in trouble. Although this may be obvious to you, others may not see it.
Studies show that most of us, particularly city slickers, are very liable to mistake signs of trouble for everyday occurrences.
A scream is more likely to be a child demanding ice-cream than someone being brutally stabbed.
A house or personal alarm means someone has pressed the wrong button again rather than be a genuine call for emergency.
Someone who falls in the street could be on drugs or drunk rather than suffering from a fainting spells or heart attack.
A simple and effective way to get action is to focus on one person, look them firmly in the eye, and tell them this is an emergency and that they need to help you- “You sir in the blue shirt! I think i have a broken wrist. Please will you help me upband take me to the nearest clinic,” has a very high chance of working.
Also, research shows that being perceived as a person worthy of help is also a good motivator.
Smiling when you ask for help as well as being thankful and praising the people that offer assistance up are useful strategies for turning bystanders into good Samaritans.
Science helps explain how the universe works, and it is useful to understand why we react the way we do.
However, it is within our power to overcome inbuilt drives and substitute better reactions. Perhaps the best motivator to make that change was suggested by the poet John Donne in 1624 when he wrote, “No man is an island, entire of itself.”
When we see an incident, we automatically fall into a five-step pattern of analysis. We notice something odd, and decide if it is an emergency. If it is an emergency, we have to decide if we are responsible. If we decide we are, we decide how to help. Then we offer that help.
If you are a victim, the first obstacle is to ensure everyone knows you are in trouble. Although this may be obvious to you, others may not see it.
Studies show that most of us, particularly city slickers, are very liable to mistake signs of trouble for everyday occurrences.
A scream is more likely to be a child demanding ice-cream than someone being brutally stabbed.
A house or personal alarm means someone has pressed the wrong button again rather than be a genuine call for emergency.
Someone who falls in the street could be on drugs or drunk rather than suffering from a fainting spells or heart attack.
A simple and effective way to get action is to focus on one person, look them firmly in the eye, and tell them this is an emergency and that they need to help you- “You sir in the blue shirt! I think i have a broken wrist. Please will you help me upband take me to the nearest clinic,” has a very high chance of working.
Also, research shows that being perceived as a person worthy of help is also a good motivator.
Smiling when you ask for help as well as being thankful and praising the people that offer assistance up are useful strategies for turning bystanders into good Samaritans.
Science helps explain how the universe works, and it is useful to understand why we react the way we do.
However, it is within our power to overcome inbuilt drives and substitute better reactions. Perhaps the best motivator to make that change was suggested by the poet John Donne in 1624 when he wrote, “No man is an island, entire of itself.”
*Do you get involved? Write to us and share your story!
Tiada ulasan:
Catat Ulasan