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Executive Summary The
lesson topic is the psychology of "bystander intervention" (i.e., why
onlookers help or do not help a stranger in need of assistance).
Research indicates that a number of factors influence how bystanders
interpret an incident and whether they assume responsibility to help
(e.g., the number of bystanders present, whether the victim appears to
need and deserve help, etc.). Learning Goals.
The immediate academic learning goal of the lesson was to develop
students' ability to explain the "bystander effect" and how the
presence of other people can affect individual behavior. A broader goal
of the lesson was to develop students' ability to explain human
behavior in terms of multiple factors or variables, which is an
important facet of social science reasoning. This latter goal is
important because students often resist the complexity of multiple
factors and tend to rely on a single factor to explain
behavior--something we call "The One Factor Theory." Lesson Design.
The lesson involved students in developing ideas about why bystanders
help or do not help people in need. Prior to the lesson students did a
homework assignment (pre-test) in which they read "bystander scenarios"
that depict people in need of help. For each scenario they predicted
whether the onlooker would help the person in need and then gave
reasons why an onlooker would or would not help in the specific
situation. In class students compared their answers on the pre-test and
compiled a set of factors that influence people in bystander
situations. The instructor then introduced a research-based model of
bystander intervention, and led a discussion comparing students' ideas
to the model. At the end of class each student wrote an individual
analysis explaining the similarities and differences between the model
and his or her group's ideas of bystander behavior. As a homework
assignment, students analyzed another set of bystander scenarios
(post-test exercise). Major findings about student learning.
On the pre-test students tended to explain helping behavior in terms of
the bystander's character and personality (e.g., compassionate people
help others). On post-test exercise personality-based explanations
decreased and social psychological explanations (i.e., situational
factors) increased. During the lesson students generated a wide range
of factors involved in bystander intervention and developed plausible
explanations for them. In general, they were able to think in terms of
multiple factors on the bystander scenarios. Although the lesson evoked
the kind of thinking we hoped for, we do not know whether this single
lesson changed students' beliefs about the importance of situational
variables as determinants of social behavior. For example, during the
group discussion some students maintained that character and
"upbringing" are primary determinants of bystander actions. The lesson
may have uncovered a belief about human nature that influences
students' willingness to accept social psychological explanations of
behavior.
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