Bystander Effect Definition

One may assume that in an emergency situation the more people present, the more likely a person is to receive help. This has however, been disproven in multiple experiments. This social phenomenon, known as the bystander effect, has been studied since the late 1960’s. The diffusion of responsibility is often used to explain the bystander effect- a social phenomenon in which people become less likely to offer assistance to someone in an emergency when there are other people present (1). Researches Latane and Darley first became interested in the effect of the diffusion of responsibility in the 1960’s, after the death of Kitty Genovese who was murdered outside of her apartment while 38 people made no effort to help her.

The diffusion of responsibility may be affected by many things; however there is a specific process that each person goes through while an event is happening. The model, developed by Latane and Darley (1970), explains the stages bystanders go through when deciding to offer assistance or not;

1. Notice that something is wrong

2. Identify that someone needs help

3. Take responsibility for helping the person

Even when a person is alone and the sole responsibility for helping a person falls unto them, if they are under time pressure they are far less likely to offer assistance. Darley and Batson (1973) told one group of students that they were late for their appointment in another building, while they told another group that they had plenty of time to make their way over. Those who believed they were needed urgently only stopped to help a man in obvious physical struggle 10 per cent of the time, while those who were not in a hurry stopped two thirds of the time. This suggests that even though a person may believe that they are responsible for helping in an emergency, they are far less likely to offer this assistance if they are under some amount of time