Bystander attitudes toward victims of violence: who's worth helping?

Most studies examining bystanders' reactions to a violent attack have used an experimental or hypothetical situation involving a single victim. This s tudy compares the intention to intervene on behalf of three hypothetical vi ctims: a woman, a child, and a dog. Using a sample of over 700 college stud ents, we found that there was not a significant difference in intention to intervene by type of victim. However, there was a significant interaction b etween the sex of the bystander and the type of victim, such that women are most likely to intervene on behalf of children, while men are most likely to intervene to aid a woman. We found that people who perceived themselves to be stronger, more aggressive, and more sympathetic than others are most likely to intend to intervene.