We can all be hero.
SCIENTISTS have discovered a "Sir Galahad" side of human nature that makes everyone a potential hero.Occasions when a crowd of people stand back and fail to react to the plight of a person in trouble are well known.
Psychologists call it the "bystander effect".
The more people who are watching, the less likely it is that one individual will break ranks and get involved.
But a new study by the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich shows that, if the victim is thought to be in real danger, bystanders can become knights in shining armour.
An experiment in which actors pretended to be in a fight revealed the opposite of what might be expected.
In circumstances that might lead to serious violence and injury, people were more, not less, likely to step in
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| Publication: | Daily Post (Liverpool, England) |
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| Date: | Dec 5, 2005 |
| Words: | 132 |
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