Bystander Effect | MCAT Psychology Prep

(00:08) What is the bystander effect?
In this lesson, we will go over the bystander effect. The bystander effect is the phenomenon in which individuals are less likely to provide help in emergency situations when others are present.
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(00:19) Example of the bystander effect
Let's say you're outside. You're walking down the street and you happen to see a person on a bike crash into a pole and they look like they're hurt. In that situation, if there are no or only a few other individuals present, you're pretty likely to help that person. However, if that same bike accident occurred and you're in a large crowd, so there are many, many others that are present, you're actually less likely to help that person. This is the bystander effect and, though this was just a hypothetical situation, this has actually been demonstrated by psychologists and multiple research studies.
(00:55) Research studies on the bystander effect
Here is an example of one of these studies. Say researchers recruited participants to have a group discussion. The participants were placed in individual cubicles that had microphones so they could participate in the group discussions. However, one of the participants was actually an experimental accomplice. At the beginning of the discussion, this accomplice would mention that they were prone to seizures. Later on, during the discussion, the experimental accomplice pretended to have a seizure and called out for help. Interestingly, while most participants looked for help, the tendency of participants to get help decreased as group size increased. These results tell us that the researchers performed this experiment with smaller groups of participants and larger groups of participants. Results showed that if you were in a small group, let's say five participants, when the experimental accomplice called out for help, you were very likely to look for help for that experimental accomplice. However, if you were placed in a large group, let's say a group of 20 participants, you are actually less likely to seek help for the experimental accomplice.
(02:20) What causes the bystander effect?
The last thing I want to mention is the cause of the bystander effect. It's thought that the bystander effect is due to the diffusion of responsibility that tends to occur in group settings. The idea being that if there are only a few people around, one of you has to help. However, if you're in a large group setting where there are many individuals, you just need one person to help and it doesn't have to be you. In this case, the responsibility is spread out over many, many individuals.
(02:48) Summary: Why the bystander effect occurs in larger groups
That's the diffusion of responsibility as it applies to the bystander effect.

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I love how you break down these concepts ❤ thank you Sir