If you were to see someone being involved in an emergency situation, do you think you would intervene? Most of us would like to think that we would come to the aid of someone who was in need, but new research has shown that there are actually many factors that play a part in how we respond to a violent emergency.
The Bystander Effect is a well-known phenomenon: psychologists have believed for a long time that the more people who are present when witnessing a violent emergency, the less likely they are to do something to help. This phenomenal was first identified back in the 1960s, but it is a difficult area to research, due to the health concerns associated with simulating violent emergencies, and the fact that it is hard to gauge how genuine someone’s reaction to a staged emergency is, when it is merely actors playing out a situation.
A new research time from the University College London (UCL) has come up with a modern way of investigating the ‘bystander effect’. Using 3D technology in the form of computer animation, the team has been testing the reactions of human beings to being confronted with a situation where another’s wellbeing is at risk. By recreating a form of reality, they are able to trick human minds into believing that what is happening around them is real – with astounding results that have far reaching implications for human behaviour and wellness.
Conducted in association with Lancaster University, the experiment created a ‘ReaCToR’ virtual reality environment. They then asked Arsenal football club fans to step inside and look for football memorabilia. When they were inside the environment, they were shown a violent encounter between two men, as if it was real. Results showed that participants were more likely to intervene if the victim in the encounter was in Arsenal kit, showing a ‘team’ mentality.
Researchers also changed the scenario and programmed the virtual ma to look straight at the participants whilst in the confrontation, and this showed that people were more likely to get involved, especially verbally.
Other variants involved having many other virtual bystanders, who react differently, such as failing to get involved, encouraging the participants to get involved, or discouraging them from getting involved, with a variety of different result. These insights on how the human mind works under pressure could be key tools for the police and the Ministry of Defence to help them understand human behaviour when in violent situations.
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