The Kitty Genovese murder and the social psychology of helping: The parable of the 38 witnesses
Manning, Levine and Collins went back to the archives behind one of the most retold stories in psychology, the murder of Kitty Genovese in 1964 and the thirty-eight witnesses said to have watched and done nothing. Their finding is that the story does not survive contact with the record. There is no evidence for thirty-eight witnesses, no evidence that those present observed the murder, and no evidence that they all remained inactive. The authors are careful to separate the story from the research tradition it inspired, which is real and has been replicated: the presence of others does reduce the likelihood that any given individual helps. What they object to is the parable, which occupies a fixed place in textbooks and has shaped how the discipline frames the danger of crowds. Their argument is that the telling itself narrowed the questions researchers asked about helping in emergencies. This vault cites it whenever the Genovese case is invoked as fact.
Manning, Levine and Collins went back to the archives behind one of the most retold stories in psychology, the murder of Kitty Genovese in 1964 and the thirty-eight witnesses said to have watched and done nothing. Their finding is that the story does not survive contact with the record. There is no evidence for thirty-eight witnesses, no evidence that those present observed the murder, and no evidence that they all remained inactive. The authors are careful to separate the story from the research tradition it inspired, which is real and has been replicated: the presence of others does reduce the likelihood that any given individual helps. What they object to is the parable, which occupies a fixed place in textbooks and has shaped how the discipline frames the danger of crowds. Their argument is that the telling itself narrowed the questions researchers asked about helping in emergencies. This vault cites it whenever the Genovese case is invoked as fact.
Written from the abstract, OpenAlex.
What our sources record
Reproduced as it was written when this source was checked, figures and all.
Manning, R., Levine, M. & Collins, A. (2007). "The Kitty Genovese Murder and the Social Psychology of Helping: The Parable of the 38 Witnesses." American Psychologist, 62(6), 555-562. No evidence for 38 witnesses, that witnesses observed the murder, or that they remained inactive.
Where we use it
- The Courage Problem, Why We Act
Reliability of this reference
The link below was matched against the publisher's record on title, first author and year, and all three agree.
The source
https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066x.62.6.555
DOI: 10.1037/0003-066x.62.6.555