Here’s how it worked: Subjects were placed in one of three treatment conditions:
- alone in a room,
- with two other participants, or
- with two confederates who pretended to be normal participants
As the participants sat filling out questionnaires, smoke began to fill the room. When participants were alone, 75% reported the smoke to the experimenters. In contrast, just 38% of participants in a room with two other people reported the smoke. In the final group, the two confederates in the experiment noted the smoke and then ignored it, which resulted in only 10% of the participants reporting the smoke.
In 1969, Latane and Rodin found that while 70% would help a woman in distress when they were the only witness, only about 40% offered assistance when other people were also present.
That brings us to today, when the EEOC has declared that traditional sexual harassment trainings don’t work, and identified bystander intervention and workplace civility trainings a promising best practice.
At Hollaback!, we’ve trained 3,844 people in bystander intervention in 2019, and in 2020 our goal is to train 15,000. Join us by helping us spread the word about how high-quality training can make all the difference.
Sincerely,
Hollaback!
P.s. Our senior trainers are phenomenal. And in alignment with our feminist values, they are also paid. To help bring more training to more people in 2020, please donate.