The Bystander Effect

A fascinating dimension of the bystander effect is the diffusion of responsibility. The general hypothesis that has been tested is: As the number of bystanders increases, it is less likely that any one onlooker will help (Darley and Latane, 1968). Social influence adds to this idea. Passive social influence from bystanders acts on the diffusion of responsibility and maximizes the bystander effect. Although pro-social behavior can be learned, because of social restraint exhibition of pro-social behavior in public is unlikely. Therefore, in emergencies, inert bystander behavior is often replicated and exhibited.

In the 1968, study, "Bystander Intervention in Emergencies: Diffusion of Responsibility" John M. Darley and Bibb Latane (1968) tested
Darley conducted yet another experiment dealing with passive social influence 's effect on diffusion of responsibility. In this 1973 study, "Do Groups Always Inhibit Individuals Responses to Potential Emergencies?" (Darley, Teger, and Lewis, 1973). Darley, along with Allan I. Teger and Lawrence D. Lewis, tested the hypothesis: "[Participants] who overhear [a] crash alone will intervene, while those in the non-facing group would define the event as no emergency and therefore fail to intervene" (1973). The independent variable was the orientation of the participants to one another: Alone, facing a confederate (able to see initial startled response), and back to back - not facing the confederate (unable to see initial startled response). The dependent variable was, again, response time. The results support the hypothesis (Darley et al., 1972). It was shown that there was a negative correlation between the facing and alone groups and response time and a positive correlation between the non-facing group and response time. These findings, on the other hand, contradict part of the idea of diffusion of responsibility with the negative correlation between the facing group and the response time. It was perceived by Darley et al. that this contradiction was the result of that initial startle response by the confederate. A presumed spontaneous response is given more weight than the following passive manner. This gave the participant "permission" to react to the emergency (Darley et al., 1972). Although this study contradicts the initial idea of diffusion of responsibility in one aspect, it also greatly supports the idea of passive social influence on the decision to