ERC Consolidator Grant awarded for project on “The Collective Bystander”

50 years ago the public myth about passive bystanders originated with the case of Kitty Genovese, a young woman raped and murdered in New York. Reporters claimed 38 people witnessed the crime but did nothing to help her. Although the police case file later showed that some bystanders in fact had tried to help, the incident inspired decades of experimental studies trying to explain why bystanders in the presence of others remain inactive toward persons in need of help. While this ‘bystander effect’ is among the most replicated findings in the social sciences, recent video observations of real-life violent emergencies show that bystanders in groups are far from passive.

The Collective Bystander Project

The Collective Bystander project aims to explain why and how bystanders take action to help in public emergencies. It will set a new research agenda that shifts the focus from individual inaction to collective action in explaining bystander helping, by utilizing state-of-the-art video analysis of CCTV recorded emergencies in Cape Town and Amsterdam, and virtual reality experiments.

The project builds on previous research that Lindegaard carried out with colleagues, Lasse Liebst, Peter Ejbye-Ernst, Virginia Pallante, Carlijn van Baak, Mara van Dalen, Marly van Bruchem, Vuyo Ncube and Jo Thomas, and Wim Bernasco. It involves a collaboration with Prof. Dr. Brett Bowman at the Witwatersrand University in Johannesburg, South Africa and Prof. Dr Jean-Louis van Gelder at the Max Planck Institute in Freiburg, Germany.

About Prof. Dr Marie Rosenkrantz Lindegaard

Lindegaard obtained a degree in Anthropology from the University of Copenhagen and went on to obtain a doctorate in Anthropology from the University of Amsterdam (UvA). She has worked for NSCR since 2008, and has been a senior researcher since 2016. In addition, she is a professor by special appointment of Dynamics of Crime and Violence at the UvA since 2020. Her research focuses on understanding processes of de-escalation and peacekeeping behavior during interpersonal conflicts, on the street and in work life settings. She uses ethnography, computer vision tools and video analysis in her work, with the aim of contributing to violence prevention and a sense of safety in public.

About the ERC Consolidator grant

The ERC has awarded its Consolidator Grants to 328 researchers. These grants, totaling €678 million, aim to support outstanding scientists and scholars as they establish their independent research teams and develop their most promising scientific ideas. The funding is provided through the EU’s Horizon Europe programme.

View the full ERC press release