The psychological explanation for what happened to Catherine Ferreira is neat and tidy and sounds like reason.

“The bystander effect,” explains Psychology Today on its website, “occurs when the presence of others hinders an individual from intervening in an emergency situation.” While people are more apt to step in if they are the only ones available to do so, the magazine says that when gathered in groups, they tend to hold back and look to one another for cues on what to do.

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