Microsoft Word Chapter 1 done doc

2) 
Correctly interpreting an event as an emergency – Even 
those who pay attention to an emergency situation have 
incomplete information about what is happening? Most of 
the time whatever is noticed may not be always an 
emergency. Whenever potential helpers are not aware of 
what is happening, they are likely to hold back and wait for 
further information. It may be that when Genovese was 
murdered, people around could not understand what was 
happening, when they heard the screams it was felt that man 
and a woman were possibly having a fight. The situation 
itself was quite ambiguous for those who were possibly 
having a fight. The situation itself was quite ambiguous for 
those who were witnessing it. In such situations people tend 
to accept the interpretation that is most comfortable to them.

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It is observed that when three are many witness for a 
given incident. The help may not be given because of 
diffusion of responsibility, like when there are so many 
people who can help why me? Help is generally not given in 
such a situation with the fear of being misinterpreted by 
people generally, when we are uncertain about the situation 
and our actions we land up doing nothing. 
In the presence of others, we generally engage in a 
social comparison, we look at others as to how they are 
reacting and if others do not react we may feel foolish to 
react. It is always safe to follow majority. This situation is 
described as “pluralistic ignorance”. It refers to the fact that 
because none of the witness responds to an emergency, no 
one knows for sure what is happening and each depends on 
others for interpretation of the situation. 
Latane and Darley (1968) performed an experiment to 
demonstrate how far people will go to avoid making possibly 
inappropriate response to a situation that may be or may not 
be an emergency situation.
The investigators placed students alone or with two 
other students and asked them to fill out a questionnaire.
After several minutes had passed, experimenter’s secretly 
pumped smoke in the room through a vent. When