The phenomenon where the greater the number of people present the less likely one is to help a person in distress. If an emergency situation occurred one is more likely to provide assistance if there is no one watching. The amount of time is takes someone to take action depends on how many people are in the room. There are two main factors that contribute to the bystander effect; diffusion of responsibility and the need to behave in correct and socially acceptable ways. The diffusion of responsibility takes place when there are other people in the room which makes one feel as if there is not as much pressure to take action as the responsibility is then shared with the other bystanders. The need to behave in a correct and socially acceptable way takes place when other bystanders do not react or help. One then assumes that if they are not reacting then a response is not needed or “appropriate”.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
The Bystander Effect
The phenomenon where the greater the number of people present the less likely one is to help a person in distress. If an emergency situation occurred one is more likely to provide assistance if there is no one watching. The amount of time is takes someone to take action depends on how many people are in the room. There are two main factors that contribute to the bystander effect; diffusion of responsibility and the need to behave in correct and socially acceptable ways. The diffusion of responsibility takes place when there are other people in the room which makes one feel as if there is not as much pressure to take action as the responsibility is then shared with the other bystanders. The need to behave in a correct and socially acceptable way takes place when other bystanders do not react or help. One then assumes that if they are not reacting then a response is not needed or “appropriate”.
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Another good article about the bystanders effect http://www.webzeest.com/article/663/the-strange-bystander-effect
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