In some respects I'm not surprised that some people would not stop to help unconditionally. Chinese people will sometimes go out of their way to help people they only have a tenuous relationship with (e.g. friends of friends of friends), whereas I'm not sure they're so interested in complete strangers. But 7% is very low.
I thought the comment from Tang Fang was interesting, that there's so much negative news about how the elderly are treated that they become suspicious of people that help them. It seems like a vicious circle - if most people wouldn't help someone else, people believe that the normal reaction is to walk on by and therefore anyone who does help is doing so for nefarious reasons. Maybe giving a good samaritan the benefit of the doubt would go some way to changing this.
So, is it better to walk on by, or would you stop to help automatically? I think I probably would because I simply wouldn't think about it.
Let's put it this way. Sometimes all it takes is to break the ice, meaning, being the first one to do the right thing, AND THEN others will follow suit. People aren't cold-blooded animals by default, but when others don't do it, this invisible atmosphere of not wanting to break the "mood" or be the special one to break the norm will weigh down on people, causing no one to do anything.
In psychology, this group mentality called the bystander effect is proven to be extremely lethal, causing couple cases where people died without anyone offering help. Because no one stepped in to break the atmosphere or action, then no one dares to be the first, although technically everyone has this question on their mind, or actually wanted to. Another concept is called the diffusion of responsibility, where you think others will do it, therefore you left the scene. Sadly, everyone else thinks the same, so this ended up no one going to the rescue. Diffusion responsibility is positively correlated with the n of people, where the person might feel they possess 1/n of the responsibility, which will influence their decision. With that said, once there are more than 2 people at the scene, everyone will feel they only possess less than half the responsibility, although the guilt and consequences will say otherwise.
On my personal account, nearly a month ago, I was on my home from the Abbotsford Airshow when we witnessed a car accident. I didn't quite know what to do, but my friend said we should dismount and go check what's going on. With that said, my half-assed first-aid training kicked in and I'm in full action. We boarded the bus, evacuated everyone, and I sorta lined them up according to lightest to most severe, then did a primary survey of their injuries, interviewed their experience, cause of injuries, and "damage assessment". I also handed some antibacterial wipes, offered water, some small bandages, and rested them as well. 911 showed up 10minutes later and they took over. My friend and I retreated, feeling really great about having helped out.
I was glad my friend told me to stop, which otherwise I might not have, because I wasn't quite sure what to do at that moment. He broke the ice, and instantly I can say, what he did was what changed me from being a passer-by vs. doing the right thing. With that said, I think anyone might be willing to do what's right, provided they "don't mind", and there's someone to break the ice if they can't do it themselves. Never forget, it's always the first step that's the hardest, but also the one that makes the most difference.
So if you ask me, I definitely won't believe in those statistics. Although there are some factors and variables at play, I feel that these surveys may not necessarily be accurate, if not troubled by faulty mechanics in preparation of it. Sample might be biased, unrepresentative. Anyone having taking university statistics and research methods will instantly remember what I'm talking about. Numbers don't speak the truth always: we have proven numbers wrong all the time. And another thing is, in statistics, significance is 5%, but everything starts from the action of the first person.
Source: Psychology Major 3rd year, personal experiences
