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social behavior
The presence of others changes your moral compass.
The bystander effect demonstrates that your likelihood of intervening in an emergency decreases as the number of witnesses increases.
In a 1968 experiment, participants were significantly slower to seek help when they believed others were also watching the event. Diffusion of responsibility makes inaction feel like a shared, and therefore acceptable, decision.
The larger the crowd, the more invisible your responsibility.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Latane and Darley, 1968
- What the check found
- The 1968 study is the foundational source for this effect. While the effect size and generalization have been debated, the core claim accurately reflects the findings of Latané and Darley.
- Confidence
- Well replicated
Related
One of these every day, and every one names the study it came from. When a finding is contested, it says so.