GENERAL INFO: Diffusion of Responsibility - The Bystander Effect (Darley & Latane, 1968)
what are the 4 steps of the 'Helping Decision Tree'?
1. Notice the event 2. Interpret it as an emergency 3. Feel personally responsible to deal with it 4. Possess the necessary skills/ resources to acc help
what 3 things can make a bystander less likely to act?
1. social influence: since situation is probs ambiguous, individuals looks to others to define situation. If no one else is doing anything - leads to inaction 2. audience inhibition: intervening runs the risk of embarrassment, more ppl present greater the risk, afraid others will evaluate them negatively / scared they might not help correctly 3. diffusion of responsibility: reducing psych cost associated with non-intervention
what inspired it all?
Kitty Genovese-Rosenthal (1964) - woman stabbed to death in NYC, at least 38 people witnessed the crime, no one intervened.
why did ppl originally think kitty was ignored?
originally thought that to be a projection of the dehumanisation of their urban environment
give a summary to the entire darn thing
-epileptic seizure was overheard, one group believed they were alone, the other believed that 1-4 unseen individuals were also at the emergency. Presence of other bystanders lowered their individual's feelings of personal responsibility and reduced their speed of reporting and attending to the incident. -gender didn't make a difference to the speed at which the incident was reported. -originally explained by: 'apathy,' and 'alienation.' The experiment suggests it may be the bystander's response to other observers than any indifference they had to the victim
what's actually the case? (in basic terms)
when a person is observing a dangerous situation there are rational and irrational fears as to what might happen. E.g. fears of physical harm or public embarrassment. In situations where onlookers are also involved, the conflict is often resolved within the individual because of an assumption that other people will go and help the victim