Genovese Syndrome Or The Loneliness Of The Victim
Genovese syndrome is a concept used to refer to the psychological phenomenon in which a person does not help but comes to a standstill while observing an emergency situation in which they are expected to support another person. who is in a situation of significant danger. It’s paradoxical, isn’t it?
This syndrome was named after a crime committed in the United States in 1964, in which a woman named Kitty Genovese was stabbed outside her apartment at dawn and in front of dozens of witnesses. The most amazing: no one did anything to help him.
The impact of the news has been such that since 1968 social psychology has attempted to respond to this phenomenon. Why did the witnesses not intervene?
Genovese syndrome
On March 13, 1964, Kitty Genovese was murdered in New York. And although there have already been many examples of the loneliness of those who live in large cities and the lack of mutual interest among their inhabitants, this case has become an uncomfortable symbol of that sort of social apathy that characterizes the cities.
The facts that gave rise to Genovese syndrome
Kitty Genovese returned home in the wee hours of the morning after a hard day’s work. When she had just parked not far from her apartment, a man attacked her. He quickly ran towards her and stabbed her twice in the back.
His calls for help drowned in the loneliness of the night. And no one in the area offered to help him. A few minutes later, her attacker fled, leaving her seriously injured.
After a few moments, the assassin returned to the scene and found his victim lying on the floor in the hall of the apartment building and continued his abuse for another half an hour or two.
A few minutes after the assault, an eyewitness called the police. When medical services arrived, they were unable to save the life of Kitty, who died in the ambulance transporting her to the hospital.
Genovese’s aggressor
A few days later, the perpetrator, Winston Moseley, was found. He was an engineer by profession, married and the father of three children. Pressed by authorities, he not only confessed to Kitty’s crime, but also confessed to two other murders.
Moseley’s psychiatric examination showed that he exhibited necrophilic behaviors and possessed an antisocial personality. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole for murder.
Genovese’s assassination caused great turmoil in the country and immediately became the subject of controversy, especially considering that at least 38 people witnessed the assault in some of its phases.
A total of 38 citizens witnessed the assault at one time, but not a single person came to help the victim, without even calling the police until the assault was over. Why did no one do anything to help him?
The theory of the diffusion of responsibility
The Genovese case caused great social upheaval and gave rise to numerous psychological and psychosocial studies. John Darley and Bibb Latané analyzed the case in depth and developed the theory of the diffusion of responsibility.
This phenomenon is therefore explained by the principle that observers tend to assume that someone else will intervene. So that they all refrain from doing it. These conclusions were drawn by Darley and Latané after their interesting social study.
The reasons given to explain this result include the following:
- It doesn’t help either that viewers see others.
- Onlookers believe that there will always be someone more qualified than them to help the victim.
- They feel anxious or ashamed when they intervene, given the large number of people watching them.
Conclusion
As a final reflection, we could add that, faced with this phenomenon, we can realize the danger that human passivity can represent.
In fact, if, as citizens, we are not aware of this reality and we do not make efforts to counter it, we risk finding ourselves in a situation of denial of social support.
Genovese syndrome should make us aware of the social aspects in which we can improve considerably, so that such events never happen again.
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