Do You Remember Reading About Kitty Genovese in Chapter 2

question 90

Essay

Do you remember reading about Kitty Genovese in Chapter 2 (the woman who was murdered outside her apartment)? The unhelpfulness of her apartment neighbors sparked hundreds of research studies on helping behavior and lead to the discovery of the diffusion of responsibility effect. Recently, the female roommate of Kitty revealed in an interview with a New York newspaper that she and Kitty were longtime partners at the time of the murder. Further, she believed that the unresponsiveness of her neighbors was the result of their prejudice attitudes toward gay men and lesbians. Please consider this situation anew using the filter self-justification. Can you construct an explanation for Kitty's roommate's beliefs using the research discussed in the chapter on self-justification? If so, please explain your reasoning and use one piece of research.

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Definitions:

Child Psychiatry

A branch of psychiatry that specializes in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders in children and adolescents.

Leo Kanner

An Austrian-American psychiatrist known for his work in child psychiatry, particularly his landmark 1943 paper that first described autism.

ADHD-I

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, predominantly inattentive presentation, characterized by issues with maintaining attention and focus.

Coping Cat

A cognitive-behavioral therapy program designed to help children deal with anxiety.