ABSTRACT
When a bystander is faced with the possibility of a fire or con fronted with the victim of an apparently serious accident, he is more likely to interpret the situation as an emergency, and conse quently to take action, if he is alone than if he is in the presence of other bystanders. Fires and accidents certainly are emergencies, but they differ from the emergencies typically encountered in “apathy” stories. They are caused by impersonal agents and do not involve a villain.
