Introduction Today, many individuals are praised for their courage and heroism. Many of these people risk their lives to save or help others when they need it. These people can range from firefighters who risked their lives to save innocent people from the 9/11 attack to an ordinary person who helps an elderly lady carry groceries home. Although there are many cases where people help others who are in need, as mentioned above, there are also a number of cases where those same people avoid helping and getting involved, such as; ignoring an old lady who slipped and fell in the middle of the street, avoiding helping an old man pick up the change that fell from his pocket, ignoring the school fight between the two students, etc. The main purpose of this essay is to explain why and under what conditions some people are more likely to be involved than others. It does so by examining two opposing but related events in which people can choose whether or not to interfere, then tries to develop a legitimate theory to describe why some people are more likely to be involved than others, and finally explains how the theory can be applied to events, as well as the flaws of the theory with respect to observed events. Description of Events The events described here are from my personal observations that I encountered during my early years of high school. The two events are somewhat opposite to each other and in both cases a third party can choose whether to get involved or not. However, according to my observations, a third party meddled in one of the events but not the other....... middle of document ......008). Social psychology. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company. Fischer, P., Greitemeyer, T., Pollozek, F., & Frey, D. (2006). The unresponsive bystander: Are bystanders more responsive in dangerous emergencies?. EuropeanJournal of Social Psychology, 36, 267-278. Garcia, S. M., Weaver, K., Moscaitz, G. B., & Darley, J. M. (2002). Crowded minds: implicit spectator effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, no. 4,853. Latane, B., & Darley, J. M. (1968). Group inhibition of bystander intervention in emergencies. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 10, No 3, 215-221. Latane, B., & Darley, J. M. (1970). The spectator who doesn't respond: why doesn't he help? New York: Appleton Century-Crofts Schwartz, S. H., & Gottlieb, A (1980). Bystander anonymity and emergency responses. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 39, no 3, 418-430.