还是先来了解下心理学的"旁观者效应"及纽约之前曾发生过的类似案例再来看有无必要讨论这起案件中的“种族问题”或“华人的道德问题”吧。
手机报警与旁观者效应 (节选)转自
人际心理网
从旁观者效应谈起
所谓旁观者效应是指,在公共场合发生危险事件、灾情或遇难,如凶杀、强奸、抢劫、偷窃、溺水、车祸、重病等,大部分人不是对遇难者“援之以手”,而是袖手旁观、看热闹。过去人们大都谴责这种行为是集体冷漠、人心不古和公民素质整体低下。但是,旁观者效应的提出较可信地解释了这种行为后面的社会心理原因。所以,今天已经有越来越多的人在理解和看待“旁观者效应”的同时,希望找到根治人类这种与生俱来的弱点的有效方法。
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1964年3月美国纽约的克尤公园发生了一起著名的案件,后来称为吉诺维斯案。案发在一天凌晨三点,一名叫吉诺维斯的姑娘在返回寓所时被歹徒持刀杀害。案发时,姑娘大声呼救,事后查明姑娘住所旁边的邻居有38人听到了呼救,有的人还打开窗户观望了很长时间。但在姑娘与歹徒进行殊死搏斗的30多分钟里,竟然没有一人出来帮助她。
......那38人随便哪一位都可能像今天的手机短信报案方式一样,一是不会与歹徒发生正面冲突,二是不会有歹徒发现报案者,因为每个人都可以利用自己家里的电话报案。但事实却是,没有一人报案!原因何在呢?
是不是正如当时美国大小媒体共同谴责纽约人的冷漠与自私以及今天我们认为旁观者的自私与怯懦呢?显然也不是。当时,两位心理学家——巴利与拉塔内做了一项实验。他们让72名不知真相的参与者,以一对一和四对一的两种形式与一位假扮癫痫病的患者保持距离,使用对讲机通话。在通话中,那名假病人都大呼救命,但结果却有很大的差异。在一对一通话的那组人中,有85%的人帮助病人——冲出房间去报告有人发病;但在四人同时听到假病人呼救的那个组,只有31%的人采取了救助行动!
所以,这两位心理学家认为,旁观效应更为重要的原因是,由于围观者太多,每个旁观者都以为“也许其他人会去帮助那位姑娘的”,于是把责任推到他人身上,自己反倒事不关己,高高挂起。于是在大家都在观望其他人的行动中,不仅延误了救助受害者,也同时推御了自己身上的责任。这个原理与中国人总结的一种社会心理和行为极其相似,即“三个和尚没水喝”。
关于“旁观者效应”(Bystander Effect) 的心理学背景知识
The term bystander effect refers to the phenomenon in which the greater the number of people present, the less likely people are to help a person in distress. When an emergency situation occurs, observers are more likely to take action if there are few or no other witnesses.
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The most frequently cited example of the bystander effect in introductory psychology textbooks is the brutal murder of a young woman named Catherine "Kitty" Genovese. On Friday, March 13, 1964, 28-year-old Genovese was returning home from work. As she approached her apartment entrance, she was attacked and stabbed by a man later identified as Winston Moseley.
Despite Genovese’s repeated cries for help, none of the dozen or so people in the nearby apartment building who heard her cries called police for help. The attack first began at 3:20 AM, but it was not until 3:50 AM that someone first contacted police.
Initially reported in a 1964 New York Times article, the article sensationalized the case, despite a number of factual inaccuracies. While frequently cited in psychology textbooks, an article in the September 2007 issue of American Psychologist concluded that the story is largely misrepresented mostly due to the inaccuracies repeatedly published in newspaper articles and textbooks.
Explanations for the Bystander Effect
There are two major factors that contribute to the bystander effect. First, the presence of other people creates a diffusion of responsibility. Because there are other observers, individuals do not feel as much pressure to take action, since the responsibility to take action is thought to be shared among all of those present.
The second reason is the need to behave in correct and socially acceptable ways. When other observers fail to react, individuals often take this as a signal that a response is not needed or not appropriate. Other researchers have found that onlookers are less likely to intervene if the situation is ambiguous(2). In the case of Kitty Genovese, many of the 38 witnesses reported that they believed that they were witnessing a "lover’s quarrel," and did not realize that the young woman was actually being murdered.