Why do witnesses often fail to help a stranger in trouble? After the 1964 death of Kitty Genovese, psychologists Bibb Latané and John Darley proposed that helping is not one choice. It is five. A bystander who says “no” at any step never acts. Walk the decision path yourself. Then use the crowd model to see how the number of witnesses changes the odds.
Latané and Darley’s five-step path to helping
Five gates to helping: Notice → Interpret → Take responsibility → Know how → Act. A “no” at any gate means no help is given.