Chapter two finished up with idea of what are the chances of a person helping a stranger in trouble. The author tells a story about a woman in New York who was stabbed to death, while at least 38 of her neighbors watched her for 30 minutes being murdered from their windows. The reason they didn't help was due to the amount of people witnessing the murder. When there are more people around trouble, the less likely the person in trouble will receive help. Everyone conforms to the others who aren't helping. However, two factors will greatly increase the likelihood of assistance:
- If the witnesses have no way to escape the situation (the people watching the murder had their homes to hide in to escape the situation)
- If the witnesses share a feeling of common fate (people watching the murder felt protected in their homes)
Chapter three discusses communication and persuasion. So far it says that when persuading someone, having a combination of emotion (fear, anger, n such) and direction (what you want them to do) is most effective.
TOTAL READING TIME: 3 hr.
Page: 69
That murder witness story appears in just about any social science book.
ReplyDeleteI just read one latley, SuperFreakonoms - I think, that claimed this story was blown way out of proportion.