By Destination Unlimited on in Travel

You've probably heard of the bystander effect (AKA bystander apathy) before, although maybe not by name. It's the psychological claim that people are less likely to help a victim when there are other people around them. A recent large-scale study used CCTV footage in Amsterdam, Lancaster (UK) and Cape Town to analyze violent incidents. In nine out of ten cases of violence, a bystander stepped in to assist victims, completely going against the bystander effect. Sometimes it's hard to see the good in people, but we might be a little bit better as a species than what we previously thought.