> I really, really can't understand the bystander effect unless there's an immediate threat to one's personal safety > I just don't understand the logic of peop

> I really, really can't understand the bystander effect unless there's an immediate threat to one's personal safety > I just don't understand the logic of people who just walk on by. It's not logic, it's irrational. It's an example of the typical human brain process being less than logical. There are all kinds of reasons people don't stop. They don't know what to do. They feel inadequate or unqualified to help. They don't want the social pressure of being the only one to be doing something different. There is a famous experiment involving a bunch of people in a room who are all secret participants except for one person. They all ignore the bleating smoke alarm, and even the smoke when it comes into the room, and the study subject will do so as well. There are lots of other experiments about this too, with some fascinating videos on YouTube. But the central answer to your question is that it's behavior that is irrational and not founded on logic.