Change The Normality Around You!

In 1964 a young woman was murdered in New York, Queens. She was pursued and attacked by the same man three times within 30 minutes - during which 38 witnesses had seen all that had happened from the window. However, in the 30 minutes, none of the 38 witnesses called the police and did not help the woman.

The question is: Why?

Why did 38 people do nothing to help an aggrieved person?

Well, there seems to be an explanation for why people feel less responsible when they are together. It seems we like to let us be led by what we like to call "normality." That is why "those around us do" or "what is normal for a man to do".

You go completely naked on the streets of your city and you will see that it is not "normal" to do that. People around you will scream at you, call the police, some may even attack you. Why? Because the current normality says it's not okay to go without clothes on the streets.

In a situation of a crisis where a lady is attacked by a man on the street, late night, if you see it is "normal" to yell from the balcony and not to get out of the block to help - most likely everything it will be screaming from the balcony. Because, basically, that's what everyone else does. And you're afraid to get down on yourself, to fight with that man.

In one experiment a student was left alone in the room and asked to stage an epileptic seizure. When in the next room was a man, alone, in 85% of cases he came into hearing the sounds from the student in the crisis.

But if there were five people in the next room, only 31% of the cases were heard at the sound of the student's sound.

In a similar experiment, but without epileptic seizure this time, but with smoke coming out under the door, the percent sowed: if there was only one man in the room, he intervened in 75% of cases - but if in the next room five people, intervened in 38% of cases.

When people are in a group, the responsibility to act and help others is somewhat widespread. They expect someone else to take an attitude. In such situations, people are automatically becoming less responsible.

When you see smoke coming out from under a door and four other people around you have no reaction, you begin to assume that the smoke does not pose a danger, and if four other people do not act, you have nothing to act on.

From now on, think twice when you face such situations. Weigh the "normality" and change the "normality" of the group you are part of.

Usually, if one of the five people in the adjoining room alerted about the smoke coming from under the door, the others in the group were also alert, considering that "it is normal to alert."

Act if the others do not. They will follow you, slowly. And if you want to read more of this kind of stuff I recommend you the book "The Tipping Point" by Malcolm Gladwell