This is the first instalment of a three-part series on heroic acts.
By Sarah Hafizah Chandra & Clement Erik Wong
Heroes — we’ve heard and read about them, but what makes them tick? What makes an ordinary person put aside their safety for others?
Now imagine having a loved one, be it a relative, a spouse, a parent or child, being in a life-threatening situation such as a car accident or trapped in a burning house.
It may seem like a no-brainer and an easy decision to make when it comes to the question of whether or not we, as regular human beings, are willing to go to lengths to put ourselves in danger to save the life of a loved one.
But what if the said person in trouble is a stranger? We know that this has not stopped people from stepping up and going the extra mile to save a person’s life. But why?
According to a medical lecturer and psychologist from the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences of Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas), Dr Bernard Ting, this hinges on a few factors.
Scientific explanations show that individuals may be motivated by both intrinsic and extrinsic factors when it comes to helping others or doing heroic acts in the event of an emergency or incident, he said.
Dr Ting elaborated that being kind and doing good to others are values that have been imparted to individuals since a young age, be it from parents or teachers.
In explaining this, he said intrinsic factor means the individual’s personality, values, self-efficacy, skills, attitude and perceived behavioural control among others while extrinsic factors can be driven by the environment and other reinforcements.
“We live in a world which comprises different communities so no man is an island. If we wish to get help from others, we should do the same to others.
“In general, when we do something good to others it gives us a sense of purpose. It does not only make others feel good, but it could also help us to feel happier and promote good mental health,” he explained.
Past studies, he said, have revealed that kindness could help in releasing a hormone called oxytocin which is cardioprotective, meaning serving to protect the heart, especially from heart disease.
Oxytocin is sometimes referred to as the ‘love hormone’ which has physical and psychological effects including social behaviour and emotion.
As such, he said the rewarding feeling that often comes after doing a good deed also plays a crucial role in motivating a person to take courage in emergencies.
“A Swedish proverb says that shared joy is a double joy while shared sorrow is half a sorrow. Most people feel happy when they show kind gestures to others as it helps to calm our mood, reduce stress, and also bring meaning to our life,” he explained.
When asked about what motivates an individual to help strangers in the event of an emergency, he said it depends on one’s intrinsic and extrinsic factors.
“An individual is more likely to carry out an act when he believes that he can do so. For instance, a trained first aid provider is more comfortable doing cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if he is well trained.
“Of course, past positive experiences may boost one’s confidence level. Sometimes, it requires one person in the crowd to initiate the kind gesture to get the ripple effects that others would be more willing to help in the event of an emergency,” he added.
On the effects of bystanders in the event of an incident, Dr Ting said people may be reluctant to help when they are uncertain about potential consequences.
In saying this, he pointed out that the fear of being accused of causing unwanted outcomes to the victims does contribute to the bystander effect.
The bystander effect is a social psychological theory which states that people are less likely to offer help to a victim when there are others present.
For instance, this phenomenon often occurs in the event of an emergency or incident in which observers are more likely to take action if there are a few or no other witnesses around.
“This happens especially when many bystanders like to record videos on how another individual helps the victim. It could become evidence to get the helper into trouble and be solely responsible for the outcome.
“Bystanders tend to have a sense of diffuse responsibility. Diffusion of responsibility refers to how a person does not feel responsible for helping someone if several others are also present, seeing as the responsibility is distributed among those who are present.
“If we encounter a crisis event, we could take the lead and delegate someone in the crowd to help in different ways.
“For example, when there is a motor vehicle accident, you can get one to control the traffic, one to call for an ambulance, one to call for the traffic police and some may move the victims to a safer place while waiting for help to arrive,” he explained.
He added that social media plays a big role as well in educating the public to practice one’s natural altruism and give compliments to those who are willing to step out to help others.
