When bar fights get mean, bystanders intervene

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. People are more likely to try to break up a bar fight when they believe the conflict is too violent, or has the potential to become more violent, according to an international team of researchers. Bystanders break up about a third of the fights that occur in bars and are most likely to intervene in conflicts between males, said Michael Parks , who recently earned his doctorate in sociology at Penn State. These bystanders used nonaggressive interventions to break up about 65 percent of the fights between two aggressive males. Most bystander interventions were classified as nonviolent interventions, which included verbally stopping the fight, or separating the fighters, according to the researchers. Parks said the threat of severe violence between males may be a cue for bystanders to intervene. "Male-to-male aggression between two actors is usually considered by third parties to be the most severe, the type of incident that can lead to severe violence," said Parks.