Name: Noemie Edouard

Student ID: 2303_25247

(a)
Social psychology theory refers to this phenomenon as the "bystander effect" or "bystander
apathy," which states that when a victim is in the company of other people, people are less likely
to help them. Since it was first proposed in 1964 in the wake of Kitty Genovese's murder, a
significant amount of research has been done on the subject, mostly in psychology research labs.
These studies have focused on a variety of aspects, such as the number of bystanders, ambiguity,
group cohesiveness, and the distribution of blame that sustains mutual denial. A person will feel
strongly about the task and respond well if asked to complete it alone; however, if the group is
asked to complete the task collectively, each member will feel less responsible and will often
back down.
An example of scenario where bystander effect could be outside the classroom, where a lone man
is threatening to shoot, a group of police officers are huddled together. It seems the officers are
"frozen," waiting for orders from their leader.
One influencing factor which will determine whether a bystander will intervene is the number of
bystanders. The idea behind the bystander effect is that less action will be taken once a critical
situation is witnessed by a larger number of passive bystanders (Urschler, Fischer, Kastenmüller,
Fischer 2015).
Another factor which may determine whether a bystander will intervene is diffusion of
responsibility which is highly associated with the number of bystanders. The onus of helping was
shared among the onlookers, as was the potential blame for inaction. It could be plausible that
someone had already planned a way for helping and the other bystanders would never know.
(Darley, and Latané 1968).
Fear of sticking out can also be the reason for which the bystander may not intervene. There is a
clear correlation between shyness and fear of standing out; people who are more "shy" are also
more likely to be afraid of deviating from the norm (Karakashian et al., 2006). A person who is
shy may be reluctant to help because they are afraid of receiving unfavorable feedback from their
peers. High-shy individuals, or "shy people," typically lack confidence. In their capacity to truly
effect change, presuming they are socially awkward and unable to communicate with others
(Karakashian et al., 2006). A person's willingness to help others can be impacted by their fear of
receiving unfavorable feedback from others, as multiple studies have demonstrated.
In that specific scenario, the most significant reason for which a police officer might hesitate to
offer help is because it is a physical threat to the potential helper. In that case, they may all be
having the fear that themselves or someone else will get shot if they try to intervene. This is the
reason for which they are “frozen” (Geyer-Schulz, Ovelgönne, Sonnenbichler, 2010; Fischer et
al. 2011).
The arousal-cost-reward model states that when bystanders believe that the benefits of an
intervention outweigh the costs, they are more likely to take action. From this vantage point,
presenting bystander intervention as a chance for growth and development, stressing bystander
action may be encouraged by emphasizing the benefits of helping, such as happiness, positive
"karma," or social acceptance, and the negative effects of inaction, such as guilt, shame, or
damage to one's group's reputation (Penner, Dovidio, Piliavin, & Schroeder, 2005). For example
in that case if someone comes up with a good idea preventing things from going wrong, the latter
will be praised for his heroic action.
It's also a good idea to make significant group norms that support intervention more salient. The
foundation of the social norms approach to bystander intervention is the notion that individuals
are more inclined to step in when they perceive other bystanders to be in danger as well as
encourage intervention. It implies that bystanders might overestimate peers' acceptance of
bystander apathy-consistent norms and underestimate other bystanders' support for intervention.
Bystander action is predicted to rise in response to interventions that dispel these myths and
highlight pro-intervention norms. Using members of the target audience in media and marketing
materials, presenting statistics like the proportion of peers who support the action, and delivering
messages through high-status peer opinion leaders are a few examples of how to increase
perceived social desirability, which acts as normative support and decreases audience inhibition
(Berkowitz, 2010).

(b)
In Mauritius actually, in the private sector there are employers who pay women less than men for
doing the same job. This supports discrimination against women.
One of the reasons for which there is gender gap between men am women in some places is that
the majority of women with children now work in the market, and the traditional family structure
of having separate jobs is no longer present. However, on average, women continue to bear a
larger portion of the burden of raising children than do men, and this burden is linked to a
decrease in the volume and duration of market work. Furthermore, the anticipation and
acceptance of domestic duties impacts the selection of a profession and inclinations for
workplace settings that enable a dual career path that integrates work from home and the
workforce (June O’Neill, Dave O’Neill 2006).
In addition, the participation of men and women in the labor force varies, which adds to the wage
gap. Part-time employment is more common among women because they value the flexibility it
provides to attend to their families and children. Women take more parental leaves and work
fewer hours than men do, even in situations where mothers' participation rates are equal to those
of fathers (Orloff 2009). Due to these decisions made by women, men's economic worth is
prioritized in the workplace. The prevailing belief in society that men are the providers and
women are the caregivers is strengthened by this (Gazso 2004) (Langdon, Danice Lynn, and
Roger Klomegah).

Moreover, Beyer (1990) conducted tests to determine how competent people felt they were at
different tasks. The results showed that men tended to overestimate or underestimate their
abilities, while women tended to underestimate or be accurate. And this is the reason for which
employers tend to feel that women do not deserve an equal salary to men, which mean less than
men. (Frédéric Palomino, Eloïc-Anil Peyrache 2010).

To eliminate this concern, several governments and supranational organizations have suggested
reforms to lessen or do away with pay inequality based solely on gender, citing its unfairness
(see, for example, surveys of reforms in the EC, 2015, 2020; OECD, 2021). Transparency
regarding the salaries of women in public and private organizations is essential to these reforms.
Such initiatives are based on the fundamental tenet that increasing wage transparency closes the
gender wage gap (GPG) (Bennedsen, Larsen, Wei 2023).
Closing the gender pay gap and generally increasing wages are the priorities if it is to fully
realize women's economic potential. This is due to the fact that gender wage parity does not, in
the long run, significantly improve women's economic prospects if future earnings for men and
women remain the same. The issue of wage growth affects women. In order to maximize
women's economic security, discriminatory practices that fuel the gender wage gap and increase
wages by pursuing policies that purposefully shift bargaining power back toward low- and
moderate-wage workers must be eliminated (Alyssa, Elise 2015).
In addition, putting an end to discriminatory behaviors that support gender inequality means:
preventing gender discrimination in the workplace by strictly enforcing anti-discrimination laws
(Alyssa, Elise 2015).
To conclude, bystander effects will happen in every situation of emergency. However, the
presence of passive bystanders is very problematic as it decreases the chance of solving the
problem. This is why it is important to educate people about the bystander effects and teaching
them how to behave in some emergency situations. This will also foster a better sense of
belonging as it teaches us to value every person’s life. When talking about gender wage gaps, it is
still an issue, but many hesitate to speak up. Laws about “workers' rights act” should be strongly
reinforced to stop these kinds of discrimination. For example, increasing minimum wage will
reduce class inequality.
List of refferences:
Wikipedia Contributors (2019). Bystander effect. [online] Wikipedia. Available at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bystander_effect.

Urschler, D.F., Fischer, J., Kastenmüller, A. and Fischer, P., 2015. Bystander effect. Psychology,
29, pp.203-206.
Darley, J.M. and Latané, B., 1968. Bystander intervention in emergencies: diffusion of
responsibility. Journal of personality and social psychology, 8(4p1), p.377.
Ganti, N. and Baek, S. (2021). Why People Stand By. Journal of Student Research, 10(1).
doi:https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v10i1.1390.

Frédéric Palomino, Eloïc-Anil Peyrache, Psychological bias and gender wage gap, Journal of
Economic Behavior & Organization, Volume 76, Issue 3, 2010, Pages 563-573, ISSN 0167-
2681, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2010.07.004
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0167268110001356)

Langdon, Danice Lynn, and Roger Klomegah. “GENDER WAGE GAP AND ITS
ASSOCIATED FACTORS: AN EXAMINATION OF TRADITIONAL GENDER IDEOLOGY,
EDUCATION, AND OCCUPATION.” International Review of Modern Sociology 39, no. 2
(2013): 173–203. http://www.jstor.org/stable/43496468.

Bennedsen, M., Larsen, B., & Wei, J. (2023). Gender Wage Transparency and The Gender Pay
Gap: A Survey. Journal of Economic Surveys, 37, 1743–1777. https://doi.org/10.1111/joes.12545