Cited by 3,085Social and Intergroup PsychologyPsychology of Social InfluenceCardiac Arrest and Resuscitation

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Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility.

Darley, John M., Latane, Bibb·1968·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

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Abstract

Ss overheard an epileptic seizure. They believed either that they alone heard the emergency, or that 1 or 4 unseen others were also present. As predicted the presence of other bystanders reduced the individual's feelings of personal responsibility and lowered his speed of reporting (p < .01). In groups of size 3, males reported no faster than females, and females reported no slower when the 1 other bystander was a male rather than a female. In general, personality and background measures were not predictive of helping. Bystander inaction in real-life emergencies is often explained by apathy, alienation, and anomie. This experiment suggests that the explanation may lie more in the bystander's response to other observers than in his indifference to the victim.

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Training bar staff to serve as active bystanders in the prevention of substance-involved sexual assault: a quasi-experimental field evaluation of behavioural effects of the Raise the Bar programme
Kettrey, H. H., Davis, A. J., Leslie, M., et al. (2023) · Journal of Sexual Aggression · doi:10.1080/13552600.2023.2271000 · Cited by 2
“The curriculum also de ﬁ ned the “ bystander e ﬀ ect ” , which entails the di ﬀ usion of responsibility for helping in group settings (Darley & Latane ́ , 1968; Latane ́ & Darley, 1969), and provided suggestions on how to intervene.”
Stepped Care, a Closer Look: Reviewing Evidence and Evaluating Outcomes
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“38 While not an emergency, a possible reason for complacency of biosecurity is that other horse owners sometimes feel that others should be taking responsibility for biosecurity, especially in a group setting.”
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“…Latane (1968)’s moral disengagement theory suggests that bystanders were reluctant to take affirmative action due to fear of negative social appraisal and they felt that others would intervene and hence, their interventions were not needed (Darley and Latane 1968; Patterson, Allan, and Cross 2017).”
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“When people learn about the bystander effect (Darley & Latane, 1968), they may decide to be more proactive in the future when they see someone in trouble.”
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Authors: Darley, J. M., & Latane, B.
Affiliations: New York University (US)
Venue: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Published: 1968
Volume: 8
Issue: 4, Pt.1
Pages: 377-383
ISSN: 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
1939-1315
DOI: 10.1037/h0025589
OpenAlex: W2171602877
Semantic Scholar: a17d8ee9f157ebeb2f520406c1d79346ceb532c8
Cited by: 3,083
References: 7
Citations by year: 2026: 158 · 2025: 139 · 2024: 161 · 2023: 129 · 2022: 142 · 2021: 178 · 2020: 152 · 2019: 175 · 2018: 168 · 2017: 131 · 2016: 143 · 2015: 118 · 2014: 138 · 2013: 135 · 2012: 99
FWCI: 113.77
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychology of Social Influence
Health Sciences › Medicine › Emergency Medicine › Cardiac Arrest and Resuscitation
Keywords: bystander intervention, diffusion of responsibility, emergency situations, helping behavior, personal responsibility, group size, gender differences, apathy, anomie, alienation
MeSH terms: Character, Conflict, Psychological, Decision Making, Emergencies, Female, Group Processes, Group Structure, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Perception, Psychology, Social, Reaction Time, Sex Factors

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Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility.

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