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social psychology
The presence of others makes you less likely to act.
A 1968 study found that individuals are significantly less likely to intervene in an emergency when they believe others are observing the scene.
This is the bystander effect. Responsibility is diffused across the group, causing each person to wait for someone else to step forward first. You feel less pressure to act when you are surrounded by potential actors.
Your sense of responsibility shrinks in proportion to the number of witnesses.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Darley and Latané, 1968
- What the check found
- The 1968 paper 'Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility' by Darley and Latané is the foundational study for the bystander effect. The claim is accurate.
- 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.