Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion · chapter 4 · id influence-c4-07-the-kitty-genovese-case----whe

“The Kitty Genovese case -- where Cialdini claims 38 witnesses watched a murder without helping -- is presented as the paradigmatic example of bystander apathy driven by social proof.”

contestedconfidence: high⚠ extracted by pipeline, re-audit pending

Receipts

Manning, Levine & Collins (2007), The Kitty Genovese Murder and the Social Psychology of Helping, American Psychologist 62(6)DOI registry: valid

There is no evidence for the presence of 38 witnesses, or that witnesses observed the murder, or that witnesses remained inactive. Two people did call the police.

APA (2012), Psychology's Tall Talessource alive

A survey of ten leading textbooks found the Genovese case in all ten, with eight suggesting witnesses watched from windows. The standard telling is a myth.

This claim is a stable, citable object. If you can falsify a verdict, tell us — corrections are loud here.