Describe the five stages of deciding to help in an emergency, and discuss reasons why helping might be blocked at each stage. Apply each stage to a situation in which something unusual is happening on a city bus.

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

John Darley and Bibb Latané proposed five stages that people go through when deciding to offer assistance during an emergency. The first stage is to simply notice the event. If a potential helper is distracted, in a hurry, or doesn’t see that an unusual situation is occurring, this stage would be thwarted. The second stage is to interpret the event as an emergency. A person might see that something is going on, yet not interpret it as a situation requiring some kind of intervention. If others don’t look worried or no one else is taking action, the potential helper’s efforts would again end there. The third stage is to assume responsibility for acting. The person has noticed the event and interpreted it as an emergency, but if she or he doesn’t feel any responsibility for acting (often through diffusion of responsibility), no help is offered. The fourth stage involves knowing what the appropriate form of assistance would be. Progressing through stages 1, 2, and 3 is great; but if the potential helper doesn’t know what to do to re mediate the problem, no help is rendered. The fifth and final stage is to implement the decision to help. Thinking to oneself, “Wow, this sure looks like an emergency, and I know what to do to help . . . but I won’t” does no good.
(Bus examples will vary, but they should clearly illustrate the five stages.)
As an example of these stages, let’s say you ride the same city bus to school each morning. One morning you notice an elderly rider you’ve seen many times before slump over in her seat. You notice the situation, because most other people aren’t slumping in their seats. You interpret it as an emergency, because the person is usually talkative, you’ve heard a slight groan, and you see that other riders look alarmed. Sitting only one row behind the woman, you assume responsibility for acting; the person sitting all the way in the back of the bus isn’t leaping up to help. Because you took a class in CPR you know the basics of what to do if artificial respiration, chest compression or other basic aid is needed. You jump from your seat and take action, ultimately saving the person’s life.