most pressing question for actual public victims": whether help would be forthcoming at all. They found that intervention was the norm, and in over 90% of conflicts one or more bystanders intervened to provide help. Increased bystander presence can increase the likelihood that someone would intervene, even if the chance of each individual bystander responding is reduced. Variables affecting bystanders Emergency versus non-emergency situations Latané and Darley performed three experiments to test bystander behavior in non-emergency situations. Their results indicated that the way in which the subjects were asked for help mattered. In one condition, subjects asked a bystander for his or her name. More people provided an answer when the students gave their name first. In another condition, the students asked bystanders for a dime. When the student gave an explanation, such as saying that their wallet had been stolen, the percentage of people giving assistance was higher (72%) than when the student just asked for a dime (34%). Additional research by Faul, Mark, et al., using data collected by EMS officials when responding to an emergency, indicated that the response of bystanders was correlated with the health severity of the situation. According to Latané and Darley, there are five characteristics of emergencies that affect bystanders: Emergencies involve threat of harm or actual harm Emergencies are unusual and rare The type of action required in an emergency differs from situation to situation Emergencies cannot be predicted or expected Emergencies require immediate action Due to these five characteristics, bystanders go through cognitive and behavioural processes: Notice that something is going on Interpret the situation as being an emergency Degree of responsibility felt Form of assistance Implement the action choice Notice: To test the concept of "noticing", Latane and Darley (1968) staged an emergency using Columbia University students. The students were placed in a room—either alone, with two strangers or with three strangers to complete a questionnaire while they waited for the experimenter to return. While they were completing the questionnaire, smoke was pumped into the room through a wall vent to simulate an emergency. When students were working alone they noticed the smoke almost immediately (within 5 seconds). However, students that were working in groups took longer (up to 20 seconds) to notice the smoke. Latané and Darley claimed this phenomenon could be explained by the social norm of what is considered polite etiquette in public. In most western cultures,