The term "bystander's apathy" was first employed by social psychologists in the early 1960s to denote the lack of social conscience and inability to reach out and help any person who is either in distress or a victim of any social crime. The 1964 murder of New Yorker Kitty Genovese provides an illustration of this phenomenon. Genovese, who was being savagely attacked outside her apartment building, screamed for help for over 30 minutes. Although 40 neighbours heard her desperate cries, no one came to her aid or even called the police.

Researchers have explained several components of the bystander effect. First, witnesses must perceive the situation as an emergency. When others are present and do not take any action or behave as if nothing were wrong, all observers tend to view the situation as a non-emergency. Psychologists call this ‘pluralistic ignorance’, in which behaviour of the group causes each individual to be lulled into inaction.

On May 25, 1997, Jeremy Strohmeyer molested and murdered seven-year-old Sherrice Iverson. His friend, David Cash, watched and neither did he intervene nor did he call the police. After the murder there was a debate in which it was discussed whether drafting of laws would make people more responsible. Will making witnesses legally responsible make them intervene or at least report such acts to the police?

In our own context, the Jessica Lal shootout incident is a case in point. Despite the fact that Tamarind Court was packed with more than 200 people, not many of them were forthcoming with their version. Even the witnesses who had come forward have now turne hostile. In a country where money power and political clout rule the roost, to expect social conscience to dictate public behaviour is a tall order.

In 1970, psychologists Latane and Darley published their study on "bystander apathy". They found that in order to help in a crisis, a bystander has to answer five questions. If any of them is answered negatively, help will not be given. The questions are:

Do I notice something happening? A person in a hurry or distracted by personal problems is less likely to observe what is happening around

Is the situation an emergency? Is a person lying in a doorway a homeless person resting,a drunk or a person who has collapsed from a heart attack? Most situations have a high degree of ambiguity. It is hard to tell what is happening.

Am I responsible? Latane and Darley found that with more people around, there was a ‘diffusion of responsibility’. Bystanders assume that others will act, so they are not personally responsible.

What can I do? Often people are unsure of their abilities, training or skills to help in a given situation. They have the fear that they might make the situation worse.

Will I intervene? Bystanders weigh the consequences of their action and think to themselves: Will I be harmed or sued?

The failure to empathise or render help to any accident victim has a lot to do with the blunting of the social conscience.

What are the reasons for the apathy that we show towards other human beings?

A close-knit community in the village is sustained by kinship culture and a shared value system. Since the inhabitants have common interests and because of proximity, there is a tendency to share joys and sorrows and celebrate or mourn collectively. This does not, however, hold true within the urban landscape. Life in the industrialised, urbanised and mechanised centres operates differently. Because you are not attached either to your geographical space or to the inhabitants who share that space with you, it leads to a feeling of alienation. Even industrialisation creates that distance between the individuals and the social set-up to which they cannot relate.

Watch the way an artisan or handloom worker is attached to all the goods that he creates, because he is so close to what he has created. The same is not true of goods that come out of conveyor belts since there is no one who is making a connection with the product that is being created or rather being manufactured. To use this analogy to illustrate the failure of the person to make a useful contribution to the social set-up would be apt. Since a displaced person (who has been removed from his roots) gets so used to a mechanised, robot-like existence that he does not define any other role for himself. Performing a socially useful and productive role is something that does not occur to most people who are so engrossed in their struggle for survival. So alienated are we from our environment that invariably our social conscience gets blunted.

Ways to support an accident victim
Victor M. Parachin

People who experience a serious accident not only need the best of medical care, but they also need the best of support, comfort, and encouragement from their family and friends. While medical professionals help heal the body, caring friends help heal the spirit, empowering victims of accidents to face their challenges more courageously and live to their fullest potential. Here are some effective ways to support someone who has experienced a serious accident or injury.

Be there
Rahul Sachdeva, 47, was seriously injured in a car accident. Because his spinal cord was severed, he suffered paralysis from the waist down and could only move with the help of a wheelchair. Rahul spent most of the next 24 months recovering from his injuries and battling with various ailments. He died as a result of heart failure, which physicians felt was related to the accident. After his death, Rahul’s wife sadly told her friend, "Although Rahul was a highly regarded executive, after his accident most of his friends fell away. He spent most of the last two years feeling isolated. Only his family and one or two friends remained faithful to him. It was an additional burden for him to realise that his friends seemed to have forgotten about him."

Unfortunately, Rahul’s experience is not an unusual one. In an Oxford University medical publication titled "Head Injury: A Guide for Families and Care-Givers," the authors (Dorothy Gronwall, Phillip Wrightson and Peter Waddell) state: "Probably one of the saddest secondary effects of a severe head injury is loneliness. In the first few weeks after the injury there is usually no shortage of friends to visit the victim. The tragedy of the accident is very fresh and the ‘old’ person still very real. Gradually, as the months go by, the situation changes. The frequency of visits drops rapidly." Here are some reasons why friends drop away: problems of communicating with the injured; painful feelings which friends experience when they see the injured friend; intimidation by the injured friend’s emotions which can range from anger to hostility to apathy and depression; and general distancing which is the result of infrequent contact.

The lesson: Give as much love and support as possible to the recently injured person. Be there as soon as you hear of the injury or accident. Continue to visit, phone and send encouraging notes. Your presence and support will contribute greatly to the individual’s physical, emotional, and spiritual survival.

Give unconditional love and be understanding
When you visit, suspend all judgment about how the person should feel, what he or she should say, think, or do. Be there as a healing presence to comfort, support, and listen. Listen with your heart and be as accepting as possible. Here is good advice from a counsellor offered to those who seek to comfort the grieving, but equally applicable to those suffering from an accident or injury: "If the mourner doesn’t feel like talking, don’t force conversation. Silence is better than aimless chatter. The mourner should be allowed to lead.... Is he or she emotional? Accept that. Does he or she cry? Accept that too. Is he or she angry at God? God will manage without your defending him or her. Accept whatever feelings are expressed. Do not rebuke. Do not change the subject. Be as understanding as you can be."

Avoid making promises you don’t expect to fulfil
This advice comes from Wildred Bockelman, author of "Finding the Right Words: Offering Care and Comfort When You Don’t Know What To Say." "Don’t say, ‘If there is anything I can do, feel free to call on me,’ if you don’t have any intention of doing anything that would inconvenience you," he says. When offering to do something, it is best to be specific and practical. Offer to provide child care, drive the person for medical appointments, or help in cooking, for example.

Don’t make God responsible for the accident or injury
Avoid any statement or hint that the accident was God’s will for some reason. This will only frustrate and anger the individual. It is better to affirm whatever level of faith the hurt person may have. When religious issues emerge, simply remind him or her that God is constantly present to help all of us through whatever life may bring.

Foster survivor attitude
Adjustment and recovery are greatly enhanced when there is an optimistic attitude. For her book "Coming Back: Rebuilding Lives After Crisis and Loss," author Ann Kaiser Stearns interviewed scores of people whose lives were broken by tragedy. She discovered that all of them shared these common attitudes for coming back:

* I will not be defeated.

* I will vividly examine the future.

* I will take advantage of the available opportunities.

* There must be some meaning to be found or seen in these events.

* I will not assume the victim posture.

* I can do it if I set my mind.

* I have to be willing to expand.

* I am consciously deciding to be in the company of good people.

* I will accept life’s challenge.

As a caring friend you can be instrumental by encouraging the injured person to adopt survivor attitudes. When your friend makes great progress, be the first to cheer him or her on. If your friend is discouraged and is feeling negative, speak and act in ways to stimulate positive thoughts and actions. Do not allow your friend to lose hope. Encourage the injured to maximise strengths, minimise weaknesses, and maintain high expectations for themselves. The combination of modern medicine, personal determination, and perseverance can truly create miracles.

Recommend a support group
Often those most effective in helping someone who has been seriously injured or hurt is another individual who has been through a similar experience. In their book, "Head Injury: A Guide For Families," authors Richard Senelick and Cathy Ryan identify these benefits of a support group:

* The sheer strength in numbers is a reminder that the person is not alone in his or her injury.

* Valuable support and insight is offered by others in the same situation.

* Empathy and sympathy are received.

* Positive peer pressure to correct unhealthy attitudes is exerted.

Help a friend by locating two or three support groups in your community. Write down the pertinent information about the groups: where they meet, times of the meetings, and the phone number of a contact person from whom more information can be gathered. Give that written information to your friend. Don’t place any pressure on the person to attend but simply offer a reminder that a support group which meets locally is another resource to consider.

Finally, remain in touch, With the passing of time many other friends, neighbours, and colleagues will drop off as they resume their daily responsibilities. As others become less available, your visit, phone call, or letter will be most welcome and cherished.

— AF