You have probably seen it happen: someone collapses in the middle of a crowded street, and people stop in their tracks and simply stare. Everyone knows something is wrong, yet hardly anyone steps forward. Strangely, the more people there are watching, the slower help tends to arrive. Is it because people truly don't care? Psychology explains the reason with the "bystander effect."
Put simply, the bystander effect is the phenomenon in which the more people there are witnessing a situation where help is needed, the less likely each individual is to step in and help. Rather than being a matter of individual personality, it is the situation itself—"being there together with many others"—that changes people's judgment.
This article walks step by step through how the bystander effect came to be known, the classic experiments, the psychological principles that hold people back, misconceptions and new research, and finally how to stop being a bystander.
How the Bystander Effect Works and How to Overcome It
The Case and Experiments That Started the Research
Research on the bystander effect began with an incident in New York in 1964. A woman named Kitty Genovese was attacked near her home and killed, and newspapers at the time reported prominently that dozens of neighbors had seen or heard the attack, yet no one had helped. Shocked by the news, psychologists John Darley and Bibb Latané decided to find out through experiments why people fail to help.
(1) The Seizure Study
In a 1968 study, participants talking with other participants over an intercom heard one of them have a seizure. Of those who believed they were the only one listening, 85% went for help before the seizure ended, but of those who believed four others were listening as well, only 31% did.
(2) The Smoke-Filled Room
White smoke was made to seep into a room where participants were filling out a questionnaire. Of those who were alone, 75% reported it, but of those who were with two strangers sitting calmly, only 10% did.
Three Mental Forces That Hold People Back
Researchers explain why people help less when others are present mainly in terms of three psychological factors.
- Diffusion of Responsibility: When many people are watching, the thought "someone else will do it" sets in, and the responsibility to help is split into small pieces among many people, lightening each person's burden.
- Pluralistic Ignorance: When a situation is ambiguous, people look to one another's reactions. If everyone seems calm, they collectively misjudge it as "probably nothing serious."
- Evaluation Apprehension: Worried that stepping in might make them look wrong or clumsy, people hesitate to act in front of others.
Latané and Darley also laid out the steps a person goes through before helping. You have to notice the situation, interpret it as an emergency, feel that it is your responsibility, know how to help, and finally actually decide to help. If the process stops at any one of these steps, no help is given.
Misconceptions and New Research Findings
Because the bystander effect is so widely known, there are also many misconceptions about it. First, we need to take another look at the incident that started it all. Later investigations revealed that press reports at the time had greatly exaggerated the number of witnesses and their indifference, and that some neighbors had in fact called the police or gone to the victim.
Nor does the effect always appear with the same strength. A 2011 meta-analysis that pooled many studies found that the bystander effect weakens considerably when a situation is clearly dangerous for anyone to see. When the emergency is obvious, people tend to step in together rather than waiting to see what others do.
In 2019, a study was published that analyzed some 200 real-life conflicts captured by street CCTV cameras in cities in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and South Africa. It found that in about 90% of the incidents, at least one person intervened to break up the fight or help, and that the more people were watching, the more often someone helped. In other words, even if the chance that any one person steps in goes down, when there are many people, it becomes more likely that someone among them will.
From Bystander to Helper
Once you understand the bystander effect, you can turn the tide around. The following methods are useful both when you need help and when you are the one giving it.
- Specific Request: When you need help, instead of saying "Somebody, please help," name a specific person, as in "You in the blue shirt, please call 119." That way, the responsibility clearly falls on that person.
- Check First: In an ambiguous situation, don't just watch other people's faces; go up and ask directly, "Are you okay?" Doing so lets you break free of pluralistic ignorance.
- First Mover: Once one person starts to move, it becomes easier for others to follow.
- Prepare: If you learn CPR and how to report an emergency in advance, you are less likely to freeze because you "don't know how to help."
However, if stepping in directly would be dangerous, calling for help from a safe place rather than forcing your way in is also a great way to help. What matters is an attitude that turns the thought "someone else will do it" into "something I can do."
Instead of waiting for someone, becoming that someone yourself: that is the first step toward protecting a society where we live together.
