Effect of Gender on Bystander Intervention

Since the murder of Kitty Genovese in 1964 research on the effect of group size on bystander intervention has risen quite rapidly. While this research on the “bystander effect” has proven quite useful there are many other factors that affect bystander intervention. One such factor is the gender of the bystander. This paper reviews current & groundbreaking literature pertaining to the effect of gender on bystander intervention in individual, group, low-severity, and high-severity situations. A review of the literature suggests that gender has a significant effect on bystander intervention. Research results were mixed with some research showing that individually males were more helpful in high-severity situations, while women tended to be more helpful in low-severity situations. Other research showed male or females more helpful in situations of all severities. The effect of gender in group variables showed to be inconclusive. These mixed results demonstrate a need for further empirical research to clarify the strength of the effect when accounting for situational covariates