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social dynamics
You are less likely to help if others are around.
The bystander effect occurs when the presence of others inhibits your individual urge to intervene in an emergency.
In a 1968 experiment, participants were more likely to report smoke filling a room if they were alone than when they were in a group. You look to others to gauge the urgency of the situation; if they remain calm, you interpret that as a signal that help is not required. You defer your moral responsibility to the group.
You are a hostage to the inaction of others.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Latané and Darley, 1968
- What the check found
- The 1968 Latané and Darley study is the foundational research for the bystander effect. The definition provided is accurate to the consensus of the literature.
- 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.