Calling Kids into Action

A recent study in 2015 showed that, like adults, kids as young as five years old are affected by the Bystander Effect. The main reason why people, both young and old, refuse to intervene in a situation due to the presence of others is because of diffusion of responsibility. Diffusion of responsibility is where the necessity to act is dispersed to all people involved. For example, a child may witness a peer being bullied and notice that 3 other kids saw the event as well. Unfortunately, since 3 other kids witnessed the problem, the child will assume that since he/she was not the only one, someone else will address the problem and tell a teacher. On the bright side there are some tips and tricks courtesy of Berkeley University that can help boost confidence and mitigate the bystander effect!

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1. Explicit Teaching : verbal cues to encourage kids to help

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2. Modeling : helping others yourself and showing compassion as a way to teach kids that they should feel empathy for the victim and help as well

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3. Environmental Cues : posters that show dolls facing each other or friends together that say that it’s their job to help others

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It is crucial to teach kids at a young age to say something when they see something happening. This is how kid superheroes gain their powers to become adult superheroes! The bystander effect only manifests more in adults if it's never addressed. 

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