A very interesting and thought provoking read, answering so many questions i'd never even considered. I'm glad to have been able to read this book.


Thank you Netgalley for providing an arc of this book for an honest review.

The Bystander Effect has been known about and researched for many years, from Milgram and Bandura onwards. It explains the reactions of groups to situations and how their response may well be completely different to the reaction they would have as an individual. Where this book moves forward is looking at how knowledge of the Bystander Effect can be applied to various contexts to improve life. As an educator I was particularly interested in two aspects - anti-bullying and leadership - both of which are explored here. The section on bullying looks at various programs and shows how psychology is used to great effect, I will definitely take the idea of using numbers and statements together. One of my tenets has been the idea of moral leadership which is the basis behind the concept of the moral rebel, the person who is driven by values not by politics and that is something in short supply in English schools at many levels. Therefore this book managed to be really entertaining but also gave me insights and pointers for the future

I was a bit apprehensive about this subject, but this was an engrossing book which really made me think.

It's made me more interested to read into more about the psyche and if we are hardwired to do certain things - the nature/nurture effect to some degree

I really enjoyed this book though did find it a little repetitive at times. It was set out well and easy to read considering that the topic felt quite academic at times.

I'm fascinated by the bystander effect, so was really looking forward to reading this.

The book was really interesting, as it takes in various different areas of society which are affected by the bystander effect: things like bullying, sexual misconduct, and just generally intervening when someone is in trouble. It's written in a very straightforward manner, so it's accessible to many more people than the original studies.

However, the one thing that really lets it down is how repetitive it is. There's basically 3 paragraphs per study: an introduction, the details of the study and then what this means for the bystander effect. The entire book is just a list of these academic studies. It would have been nice to have a little break from this structure, as it feels quite relentless. It's the sort of book I'd like to dip in and out of, rather than finish in one go.

I'd definitely recommend this book to someone who was interested in psychology but didn't have any prior knowledge of this particular area.

This was a fascinating book about the psychology of the bystander effect - why are people less likely to help when in a group setting? Detailed research is included about group mentality, and why people follow the orders of authority figures, even when harm is caused by these actions. It talks about bullying, and why so many people are passive spectators.

It also discusses the power of social groups, and social norms/peer pressure, but also looks at reasons why some people are moral rebels, and choose to speak up or intervene when they see someone in trouble. Strategies for dealing with bullying in schools, creating ethical workplaces and changing cultures of silence are all included, and stories of courage gives hope for change.

A good beginner's insight into the bystander effect.

I appreciate that it wasn't written in a complete academic tone, as it meant I could understand it more and made it more interesting to read.

Very handy for anyone interested in and/or beginning to study psychology.

I knocked 2 stars off because most of it was just different studies on the matter. I would have like if more information or detail was given on some of the cases as during some of it there were a few instances of repetition on the subject.

I have only partially come across the bystander effect before during a psychology class so I was glad to be able to expand my knowledge on the subject, although most of this book does discuss what I learned in those classes.

All in all, this book gives a good insight into the Bystander effect and, how we can view the world differently and try shift our own lives for the better, by working against the bystander effect and helping out. Making sure to step up if you see something wrong happening because you know it's the right thing to do, and not allowing for a crowd setting to prohibit your actions.

As a mental health practitioner I found this a really interesting read. I thought it was going to be written in a really academic way but I was pleasantly surprised that it uses language that us non academics can understand. I find psychology a fascinating subject and this book did not disappoint. Thank you netgalley for a copy of this book in return for an honest review.

In summary: A very important topic handled quite clumsily.

I loved the message of this book: when you see something wrong, say something right.

The topic of this book is fascinating. Utterly fascinating. Reading the book led me to reflect personally on a very deep level - both about my actions and the actions of others in situations where I’ve been present. From bullies in school and the workplace to incidents that happen in the streets. It made me think about those times where I have acted and stood up for what I feel is right, it made me think of times where I was in need of help and the reactions of others, and it made me think of times where I have failed to act. In this sense, it was a powerful read and effective in its goal (to encourage people to reflect on why they may or may not act and encourage them to react and not be a bystander in the future).

I also found myself deeply inspired by the encouragement of the author to act, and I have thought a lot about how I might nurture the qualities she identifies as being crucial in moral rebels so that when I find myself in a situation where I wonder how to act, I can do so without hesitation. The latter two sections where this was discussed were my favourite part of the book, in fact.

However, my reading of the book was continually stilted by my problems with the research (the methods, ethics etc) and mostly, my problems with the way the research was presented (over-generalising, leaping to conclusions). So it is a difficult book to review from that point of view.

Let me speak to some of these issues.

In much of her analysis, the author fails to take into account wider social dynamics at play. For example, in one cited example she drew the conclusion that women did not speak up to challenge men saying sexist remarks because they were worried about misreading the situation... completely ignoring hegemonic masculinity. On another occasion, she claims that a group of female college students were diverted from disordered eating as a result of a leaflet which challenged the idea that all women are thinner, working out more and eating less. She says, of those who her intervention was ineffective with, that they were influenced by media depictions of body image, rather than that of her peers… completely misunderstanding what is the cause of eating disorders for many people (which is that it’s more about control). This ignorance to the wider picture, and ignorance of certain topics, was glaringly obvious and difficult to overlook.

The author also jumps to make conclusions on many occasions. These conclusions are not based on any science she refers to. For instance, she claims that a Black boy who stood up against a fraternity of White boys to call the police in a dangerous situation did so partly because his identity as the only Black man present made him feel “other” in a way that negated his need to fit into social norms. This is not based on any testimony from the Black boy. As a White woman, I don’t feel she is qualified to suggest such a conclusion or to place meaning on that boy’s feelings or experiences. It feels, to me, like drawing such a conclusion is inappropriate.

The author does this on several occasions, to the point where you do want to sit down and get her to have a think about how her biases are infringing on her research findings. It is clear that the author’s bias influences the conclusions she reaches, many of which feel misjudged and inappropriate.

Speaking of research methods, I did find myself questioning the ethics involved in many of the cited studies. For example, the amount of information which was shared with participants prior to participation consent being sought (and how appropriate it is to hoodwink research participants), the level of distress that may have been experienced by participants and the aftercare for participants. Although, perhaps, this is out with the scope of this book… I feel it is only good practice to properly deal with such issues.

I also found myself sometimes questioning the actual research methods. For example, the claim that a leaflet being handed out to college students had such a drastic impact on them that they no longer experienced body dysmorphia or disordered eating. Again, it feels like the author is unaware of the wider social dynamics that are at play and possibly unable to see what other things may have had an impact on the participants of her research. No research takes place in a silo and it feels misguided, to me, for the researcher to suggest that there was a causal effect between a leaflet and the prevention of a serious mental illness.

In conclusion, this is a fascinating topic and one I haven’t explicitly read about before. I would read more on it. As someone who loves personal development, I am also extremely grateful for the growth that took place within me while I was reading the book. Unfortunately, I couldn’t look beyond some of the issues I’ve outlined and so I’ve rated this book three stars (I liked it but didn’t love it/it had flaws).

If you’re looking for an introductory level text, this could be a good one. However, if you’re interested in a highly technical and insightful analysis of the phenomenon of “The Bystander Effect”, I think you might prefer to skip on this book as the presentation of research may frustrate you.


Content warnings: there are all kind of topics covered in this book that readers may find upsetting. From serious sexual assault and violence to warfare. Most of these topics are simply referred to and not discussed at great length. However, the book does deal with many difficult issues as it talks about how some people stand by in situations where moral action is needed.

This is an interesting and well-researched look at why some people intervene in situations and some do not. It’s not always that easy to follow though - sometimes I got a bit lost in the science. I was expecting it to be a bit bleaker than it turned out to be - the author has (smartly in my opinion) subtly focused it on how you can stop people from being bystanders and get them to intervene. I came away with some ideas for tactics for real life. I’ll probably mention it to my sister - who is a primary school teacher - as something to take a look at for strategies with her pupils.

The Bystander Effect is a well-researched and informative book, with many relevant examples. It is easily accessible to anyone with no previous knowledge of the bystander effect and worth a read if you are interested in psychology and human behaviour.

However, it reads more like a dissertation as opposed to a non-fiction book and it wasn't as engaging as I expected as it was rather repetitive and it was not as detailed as I initially expected.

Thanks to HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for the ARC.

A concise and easy to follow non-fiction account on the bystander effect and its many causes! I was a little disappointed as a psychology reader to already be familiar with the vast majority of the case studies listed within but they were explained well and to someone new to the subject I’m sure it would suffice. I loved the real life applications that were given so as not just to educate but to improve quality of life and overall help given. Not bad at all!

This is a non-fiction psychology book about what causes people to exhibit bad behavior and how it is not only bad people who do bad things. When we witness bad behavior what qualities in a person cause them to act or to stand by?

A lot of studies are referenced that I had already read about. As such, I found this quite dull and was very disappointed.

That being said. The author writes in a clear and concise way using language that people with no previous knowledge of psychology can understand. I would be happy to suggest the book to students who are perhaps about to start a qualification in psychology.

I am sure that if I had not already heard of most of the studies referenced I would have found it much more interesting. When I read the blurb before requesting the book I was expecting something a bit less textbook and a lot more engaging. Perhaps fewer examples of the same sort of behavior and less repetition would fix the issue, along with a new perspective and less dated examples.

I received this copy of #TheBystanderEffect for free from #NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Understanding the psychology of courage and inaction

This book offers brilliant direction to transform silence and bad behaviour.

Teachers, Human Resources managers and leaders in communities; this book is essential to add to your resources.

Catherine Sanderson has wisely chosen to write this book, “providing insight into the forces that keep us from acting - offering practical strategies for resisting such pressure in our lives.” Scholarly research and insights from neuroscience and psychological studies validate Catherine’s use of her research and experience.

For one example in her book, Sanderson advises that social norms within a school can be changed by training a group of “social influencers” leading to research outcomes being very positive. Another worthwhile piece of advice, which is often neglected, is to build strong, caring and warm relationships at schools, work and home.

In the beginning, Sanderson succinctly describes what she is going to cover in each chapter, so you are forewarned about: Staying silent in the face of bad behaviour, bullying at school, sexual misconduct, and unethical behaviour to name a few. She examines how some people can stand up to others and then finally provides direction for strategies we can all use to speak up and take action when it is needed.

This book requires focused and concentrated reading, which is not when you feel like curling up with a book.

BonnieK

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.

The Bystander Effect: The Psychology of Courage and Inaction by Catherine Sanderson is interesting and brilliant looking into the to psychology behind the bystander effect.

The book is excellently up to date on the effects the bystanders and how social media can play a massive role in people's behaviour.
It also looks at some of new and old experiments carried out in the field of psychology my personal favourite being Milgram’s studies of obedience.

Overall the book is well written and a excellently up to date look at the bystanders effect , I recommended this book to anyone with a interest in human behaviour and to anyone with general interest in psychology.

1.5 I guess but definitely not quite 2 stars.
The concept of this book initially drew me in but my word, was this a dry dry read.
It was a very exhaustive compilation of every study done into the bystander effect, and that was about it. It was a lot of regurgitated information on a variety of circumstances and I wish it had gone into more detail and focus on specific instances that are just casually mentioned throughout.
I really struggled reading this as I found it pretty repetitive and lacking any kind of voice.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a short non fiction book about the bystander effect. From the description I was expecting full studies on cases such as the murder of Jamie Bulger and the USA gymnastics instructor Larry Nassar who abused women. This was not the case at all, we just got a few chapters on each case mentioned in the synopsis. This book has a lot of case studies were they tested different students and put them in different scenarios to see how they reacted. Nothing in these studies surprised me but it was an easy read. What I particularly enjoyed is that the author gave some strategies on how to confront people if they say things that make you feel really uncomfortable without making it really awkward. I think this book is a perfect beginners book for anyone interested in psychology of people and obviously with a particular interest in the bystander effect.

I don’t know what I expected from this book. I knew it was a non-fiction book on the psychology of ‘the bystander effect’ which is the claim that people are less likely to help or stand up for victims or stand up to behaviour that is illegal or morally wrong.

There is not much in the way of evaluation of studies used, especially as some of them are quite dated. However, it was interesting to read some theories/findings and compare them to recent events, one which stood out for me was a discussion into the research of Milgram that may go some way to explaining the behaviour of some people in relation to asylum seekers (e.g. Katie Hopkins) and how this probably impacted on the outcome of the EU referendum “[re: Nazism] They identified with the dangers that Hitler was articulating, shared his muscular patriotism and nostalgia for a simple past, embraced his hatred of outsiders and bought into his vision of a racially pure society”.

This was a very dry read, almost like reading a text book and, because of this, I found it hard going. Whilst the subject matter is interesting, it sometimes struggled to keep my interest. There was much repetition and duplication, to the point where I neeed to go back and check I wasn’t re-reading the previous paragraph or page.

If you are interested in the psychology behind dispelling the myth that bad things are only done by bad people, this is worth a read.

An interesting read, but requires a more than basic understanding of psychology to follow. That said does provide some advice and insight into how we can all be better witnesses for each other.

I have been fascinated by the bystander effect for a long time so I was incredibly excited to be able to have a chance to read The Bystander Effect.

Prospective readers should be aware that the nature of this book means that there is discussion of difficult topics like rape and sexual assault but there is also a heavy message of hope throughout as examples of people going against the bystander effect are given. Additionally, the final couple of chapters are devoted to exploring methods for combating the inaction caused by the bystander effect.

There is a really great grounding in science throughout as Sanderson draws of numerous studies.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book and highly recommend it!