Final answer:
Kitty Genovese was a young woman who was brutally murdered in NYC in 1964. Her case is of interest to social psychologists because it demonstrated the bystander effect. The bystander effect is the tendency for individuals to be less likely to help when others are present.
Step-by-step explanation:
Kitty Genovese was a young woman who was brutally murdered outside her apartment building in New York City in 1964. Her case became of interest to social psychologists because it highlighted the phenomenon of the bystander effect. The bystander effect refers to the tendency for individuals to be less likely to help when others are present. In the case of Kitty Genovese, there were numerous witnesses to the attack, but very few intervened or called for help.
The theory of diffusion of responsibility explains why this may have occurred. When there are many bystanders present, individuals may assume that someone else will take action, leading to a diffusion of responsibility. This case has been extensively studied by social psychologists to understand the factors that influence prosocial behavior and the role of social influence in helping situations.