The Affect of a Victimas Language on the Likelihood of Bystander Intervention

Abstract

The purpose of this experiment is to find out whether language affects the likelihood of bystander intervention. In society, there is a lot of linguistic prejudice and bias against people who do not speak the native language (Gluszek, 2010).The experiment took place in a park, in which one confederate pretended to have a sprained ankle and the researcher was far away recording the results. The subjects were adults who passed by the scene, and they were debriefed afterwards. Results showed that the likelihood of bystander intervention was greater when the victim asked for help in English, as opposed to a foreign language (Albanian). When the victim was asking for help in English, about 68% of the bystanders intervened and about 32% did not intervene. However, when the victim was asking for help in Albanian, about 53% intervened, and 47% of the bystanders did not. The total number of subjects was 180 bystanders. Overall, the likelihood of bystander intervention was greater when the victim speaks English.