rofl, i was actually just taking a break from an english paper on bystander effect. for once i can tell my self i''m not wasting time on snotr

There's two parts to bystander effect, diffusion of responsibility and pluralistic ignorance.

kinda makes you wonder what you would have done in the same situation.

Humans are pathetic.

There are some horrible children out there that would say anything, so i understand where people are coming from, but at the same time you'd think you'd at least wait a while and just make sure the child would be ok, not just walk away. What kind of person are you to just walk away. Different if they have knives or something, but in that case, just call the police.

Also remember that you DO NOT need to wait 24 hours to report a missing person. My best friend went missing and we thought we'd need to wait 24 hours, we waited till midnight, but was told by the police after that the first 24 hours is the most important. 3 months later, he was found. but not alive

He took his own life

wtf is wrong with people? seriously she screams for help and even says he aint her farther.
I find it amusing all the "white" in lag of other words just walks by and the first black person that goes by was rdy to smack him some and help the girl...

I would have stopped and heard the guy wth he was doing at least -.-'

Those two guys were awesome. Truly honourable human beings.

Interesting experiment, but lucky he didn't get tased or worse. I tried to spank my kid in a public place years ago and had someone threaten to call the cops on me. Hmmm . . . wonder why kids act the way they do when a parent no longer has authority . . .

respect to the 2 guys who acted swiftly, it was the right approach in this situation. as for the people in the video who didnt react, #6, #8 and all of the rest of the 'walk byers', i leave you with this quote -

'ignorance and inconsideration are the two great causes of the ruin of mankind'

Well you see, the loophole in this experiment is that when someone hears a child say "you're/he's not my dad!"; people just think that it is just a kid who is not happy with his father.

I bet if they changed the script-line to "help i am getting kidnapped!"; people would act much more immediately.

As a mother of three, when I see something like this the thought that comes to mind is the question "If this were my child, would I want someone to step in?"

The answer is YES.

I have yet to witness anything like the above or come across a stranger in the park watching kids type scenario, but I have been in stores and brought children to the attention of workers/management when I see parents ignoring their children or children unattended and wandering off where they could be grabbed. I've found that if I say something to a parent directly if they're not paying attention to their child, the child will likely get yelled at, but it's less likely when an employee/management says something.

I read somewhere that in case of trouble, don't say "someone help or help !". You have to point to a bystander and ask him / her for help. Researches found out that the results were completly different : the bystander is directly involved and indeed try to help.

how were they supposed to know it was a child abductor? a friend of mine had a step dad and he always screamed "you're not my dad". especially in public. i would have thought it was her step dad...

#12 well first of all thats bullshit, it's not because you followed a higher education that you're smarter. and you're a pretty big prick for suggesting that, because they're african american, they didn't go to uni, or that they have nothing to loose. also it's not because you didn't go to uni that you'd think intervening in a delicate case like this couldn't take a bad turn. people who didn't go to university don't have a diploma, but they're not retarded. obviously i can't say "i would have" because i haven't been in that situation, but it's apparent that people who don't intervene to help a child because they're afraid for their own safety are the scum of the earth. the only exception is probably the guy who was walking with his kid, as you pointed out.
and that was the point of the experiment, to see how complete strangers would react.

Just a couple of thoughts.
Kidnappers aren't usually so confident (in broad daylight too) when they kidnap hence so many people thought it was a parent. The child should have done what #14 said and also if she were truly being kidnapped it would have sounded/screamed more believable than just a bad mannered child what in return would have made more people react on a primal level (not sure but felt like it).

Also a lot depends on the culture. I remember when I was in Israel, two kids came to my defense only because my parents were talking to me in a dissatisfied manner.

Similar effect happened to me. Some lady in the bus got sick its looked like epileptic attack. She fell of the chair on the floor of the bus and start shaking. She was unconscious. The people didnt seem to care just stood around moved away from her. I couldn`t belive for a second. But then i tried to help her to roll her on the side and order one guy to help me hold her and other guy to call for ambulance.
Funny thing that guys offered me their cellphones but they didnt called by themselves.

My act was kinda selfish beacuse in my head I was thinking about my self and what would people do if this was me.

#14
You have to point to a bystander and ask him / her for help. Researches found out that the results were completly different : the bystander is directly involved and indeed try to help.

I agree with you on that one

People don't want to get involved. In central London I saw two guy locked in a fight with bleeding faces. I stepped in and broke it up. But I could either keep them apart from each other, or call the cops, not both. I was asking people passing to ring the police. A lot of people stood and watched, and all claimed they don't have phones. Some people walking by ignored me, and one person asked "why", and carried on walking.

The moment I stepped away to make the call, one guy smashed a bottle on the others head and things got worse.

It sickens me that people won't step up to help. But I guess what they say is true, if you need help, you won't find it in a crowded place. People will walk by assuming someone else will help.

What a bunch of nonsense, this looks like an uncle or something dealing with a niece that ran away.

Why bother and go trough the hassle if there's like only 1 in a 100 chance of it actually being something real. There probably is a bigger chance of getting on TV this way than actually come across a real situation like this.

If it was a kidnapping like in the movies stay away or ur gonna get shot. Call 911 or something if u want. But than u face possible embarrassment if someone beet you to the punch (the second "First" effect).

2:30 trust the brothers to save the day

fuckin' people. the first thing i would do is stop and question the piece of shit thenc all the cops!

These fake setups that play with people's emotions and make good people look like fools are the reason I would not help.

#19 - Ohhhh Noooo! Embarrassment? *gasp* We can't have that!

Who the hell cares? It's simple - "Hey little girl, do you know this guy?" If the answer is no, CALL THE POLICE. If it IS some snotty brat trying to manipulate the situation, when the cops get there and sort things out, she's going to get an earful and a half from them AND whatever's coming to her at home.

Why bother and go through the hassle? There's only 1 in 100 chance it's something bad? Don't you think it would mean a HELL of a lot to that kid that gets raped, beaten and may or may not be lucky enough to be found dead in a ditch? How great does the percentage have to be before it's worth inconveniencing you? Yeah. Maybe you could have saved some kids life, but you were running late and really wanted to stop at Starbucks on your way to work. I mean, it would be a shame if you didn't get your morning coffee...

#22 - You make no sense. Do you think shows do things like this with the intent to mess with people's emotions for entertainment? They do shows like this to try to get people to WAKE UP. They're not *making* any "good people" look like fools. The "good people" are making THEMSELVES look apathetic. Don't be whiny and blame the reason you wouldn't help on the thin chance that there might be actors involved. Own your apathy and admit that you just don't care about enough outside of yourself to be bothered.

#23 You are one of the most sane and articulate posters on snotr; keep it up. ( and to all.....no,she did not pay me to say that )

I think the little girl was not a very convincing actress. "Somebody please help me. You're not my dad. Somebody please help me. You're not my dad." To me she sounded like a brat having a tantrum. She didn't sound at all like a frightened little girl being kidnapped. Still, I don't think I could have just walked by without at least civilly and cautiously intervening, just in case. I bet you if she'd been screaming, crying, kicking, falling on the ground, and otherwise appearing terrified, the bystanders would have been all over the situation. Unfortunately a lot of kids in that situation for real would be too terrified to resist. Bravo to the two guys who did intervene.

God forbid but when someone or someone's child would be in that horrible situation, I want those bros around to kick the bad guy's asses badly!

99% of the time, when you see this, the child is just being a brat.
This really looks nothing like an abduction, it looks like a brat kid and an embarrased father/stepfather.
The fact that the guy is not running for cover or trying to difuse the situation makes it seem, like the guys says, that she was just being disobedient.
These social experiments are hit and miss, some are really interesting, others(this one) look realy amateur and cheep.

"99% of the time, when you see this, the child is just being a brat."

And then there's the other 1%.

Think of it this way. Let's say you were walking down the street, saw this happening, and did nothing. Later that day you see an Amber Alert with a picture of the child you dismissed.

Can you say in good conscience that your inaction would have been justified and you wouldn't question your decisions?

I'm totally with you on this @JaeMArie

Bystander Effect my ass. This is BS. We now live in cynical times with a social perception that no good deed goes unpunished. Americans are now socially conditioned to avoid getting involved and complicate their own lives - better to maintian a low profile below the radar. I can assure you that no one would get away with this in America in the 1940s when people were still making citizen's arrests. They can call it the Bystander Effect or whatever they want, but the mother put it correctly - people are afraid to get involved. These are the non-social times of indifference we live in now. Get used to it.

favorite line "woah woah woah TV TV TV. Great Job." lol. he knew he was in for it!

boy who cried wolf..