The bystander effect is a psychological effect. It’s a theory that claims people are less likely to help someone when there is a crowd present.
So, I was walking around a national park a few weeks ago and I saw this lady slip on some ice. She was maybe in her late 50s to early 60s.
She laid on the ground for a while and I wondered if she was ok. There were a lot of people around, but no one walked over to her to check. I considered doing so, but there was this resistance that kept reeling me back.
I just thought to myself that there are so many other people around -people that were most likely more qualified than me to help her. So, I just stood there looking at her.
And as time ticked away, people just imitated me as they stood in place and observed her from afar. No one went over to check on her
This experience, which is very likely fiction (it is), is a social psychological theory called the Bystander Effect.
What is the Bystander Effect?
The bystander effect is a psychological phenomenon that causes people to avoid interference during a calamity (emergency, bullying, theft, etc.) or helping someone in distress when there is a group of people present.
The likelihood of someone interfering also diminishes in accordance with the size of the group or number of bystanders (Smaller group = a person more likely to interfere. Larger group = a person less likely to interfere).
Who First Coined the Bystander Effect?
This social psychological theory was first studied by psychologists John M. Darley and Bibb Latané in 1968.
By conducting this study, the researchers wanted to understand why no one helped Kitty Genovese when she was murdered outside her Queens, New York apartment.
There were 38 bystanders, who either witnessed or heard the attack, but no one stepped in to help.
How Did They Conduct the Study?
Darley and Latané did a lot of experiments to study this effect. Most commonly, they would have a participant either wait in a staged environment by themselves or with others (participants and confederates).
Then, they would stage an emergency crisis.
As the crisis goes on, the researchers measure how long it takes the participant to intervene, if they do so at all.
By running this experiment numerous times, they found that when a participant is alone, he/she helps the person in distress the majority of the time.
But when there are other people around, even if it’s one person, the participants are way less likely to help (less than 50 percent of the time).
However, even though the chances of someone stepping up to help decreases as the group grows, it doesn’t mean that no one will help.
Someone will help just because of the sheer number of people present. It’s just that the percentage of people actually stepping up to help will decrease.
Conclusion
The bystander effect is a fascinating occurrence that I’m sure many of you have experienced. I sure have.
But not that we know what it is and how it works, what can be done to prevent it?
P.S.
If you’re wondering, the lady who slipped on ice (the one I made up earlier) is okay. She just stood up after a few minutes, dusted herself off, and continued with her hike.