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social dynamics
You help less when others are present.
A 1968 study found that participants were significantly slower to report a plume of smoke filling a room if they were in a group compared to when they were alone.
This is the diffusion of responsibility. In a group, you assume someone else will act or that the lack of others' panic means there is no actual danger, paralyzing your own response.
The presence of others is not a comfort, but a barrier to acting.
Where this comes from
- Study
- Latané and Darley, 1968, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
- What the check found
- This refers to the classic Darley and Latané study. The finding is well-established in social psychology, though the underlying mechanism is often debated by academics.
- 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.