Conformity: The Bystander-Effect

Under what circumstances does the Bystander Effect most often occur?

When people don't notice the situation, when they fail to recognize its a true emergency, if they believe that someone else will step in and help, if the person is unsure how to help, if they are afraid, and unfortunately, racism and negative attitudes toward the victim increases the bystander effect.

When is the Bystander Effect least likely to occur?

When people notice the situation, realize it's an emergency, assume responsibility, know what to do in that situation, and act in time.

How to prejudices affect the likelihood of receiving help?

When we hold negative beliefs such as stereotypes, they act as a prejudice towards a certain group pf people, which ultimately affects how we perceive the victim and whether we feel they are deserving of help and thus whether we should intervene.

What is Evaluation Apprehension? How does it affect the Bystander Effect?

Evaluation Apprehension refers to the fear of being judged by others when acting publicly. Individuals fear to make mistakes or act inadequately when they feel observed, which makes them more reluctant to intervene in critical situations, which increases the bystander effect.

How might one effectively get help in an emergency situation?

Make direct eye contact with a specific individual and reduce the ambiguity of the situation by giving clear an concise instructions. "YOU, call 911 and I'll perform CPR."

What causes the Bystander Effect?

Pluralistic Ignorance (due to informational social social influence), Evaluation Apprehension, and Diffusion of Responsibility.

What are some of the moderators that increase help?

Seeing others who are willing to help, knowing how to help, feeling guilty of we do not help, sharing a common fate with the victim, when we are similar to the victim, and when we have some kind of relationship to the victim.

What events triggered researchers to study the Bystander Effect more closely?

The brutal rape and murder of Kitty Genovese in full view of 38 neighbors who did nothing to help - sparked research to try and understand why nobody helped.

What is the Bystander-Effect?

The bystander-effect theorizes that in the face of an emergency the distressed person is less likely to receive help if there are multiple people (bystanders) present.

According to Fischer and his colleagues (2011), what factors increase the likelihood of receiving help?

The clearer the emergency situation is, the more likely it is that help will be given to the victim.

What is Diffusion of Responsibility ? How does it affect the Bystander Effect?

The more bystanders there are, the less personal responsibility any individual bystander will feel

What was the method/procedure for Fischer et al. (2011) A Meta-Analytic Review ?

They statistically combined 105 studies on the Bystander Effect (more than 7,700 subjects) to see whether there was a general trend in evidence that supported the fact that perceiving a situation as a true emergency will reduce the Bystander effect dramatically.

What is an example of a sharing a common fate with a victim?

While you are riding the metro to work one morning, another passenger sitting a few seats away from you falls onto the ground and appears to be having a seizure. You feel a sense of urgency because the two of you are both riding the metro and thus you have something in common. If it were you in this situation, you would want the help of others around you as well.

What is Pluralistic Ignorance?

results from the tendency to rely on the overt reactions of others when defining an ambiguous situation. *A maximum bystander effect occurs when no one intervenes because everyone believes that no one else perceives an emergency*

What are some reasons why bystanders do nothing in an emergency?

•Fear of becoming a target •Lack of empathy with the victim •Perceiving the situation as normal