The Kitty Genovese Story in Introductory Psychology Textbooks

Abstract

Given the many inaccuracies in the original New York Times 38-witnesses version of the Kitty Genovese story, this study examined the accuracy of this story in current introductory psychology textbooks, 50 years later. Recent studies have shown that there is no evidence for the following three key features of the original story: (1) that 38 witnesses were present, (2) that these witnesses watched the attack for its duration from their apartment windows, and (3) that the witnesses remained inactive, not intervening until it was too late. Twenty-one introductory textbooks were analyzed for the accuracy of their coverage of the Kitty Genovese story. Although a few texts still tell the inaccurate 38-witnesses story, most of the texts provide more accurate, updated coverage.