Bystander effect

The bystander effect, or bystander apathy, is a social psychological theory that states that individuals are less likely to offer help to a victim in presence of other people. First proposed in 1964 after the murder of Kitty Genovese, much research, mostly in psychology research laboratories, has focused on increasingly varied factors, such as the number of bystanders, ambiguity, group cohesiveness, and diffusion of responsibility that reinforces mutual denial. If a single individual is asked to complete the task alone, the sense of responsibility will be strong, and there will be a positive response; however, if a group is required to complete the task together, each individual in the group will have a weak sense of responsibility, and will often shrink back in the face of difficulties or responsibilities. The theory was prompted by the murder of Kitty Genovese about which it was wrongly reported that 38 bystanders watched passively.

Recent research has focused on "real world" events captured on security cameras, and the coherency and robustness of the effect has come under question.^[1] More recent studies also show that this effect can generalize to workplace settings, where subordinates often refrain from informing managers regarding ideas, concerns, and opinions.^[2]^[3]

^ Philpot, Richard; Liebst, Lasse Suonperä; Levine, Mark; Bernasco, Wim; Lindegaard, Marie Rosenkrantz (2020). "Would I be helped? Cross-national CCTV footage shows that intervention is the norm in public conflicts" (PDF). American Psychologist. 75 (1): 66–75. doi:10.1037/amp0000469. hdl:10871/37604. ISSN 1935-990X. PMID 31157529. S2CID 173993332. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-03-11. Retrieved 2020-06-05.
^ Hussain, Insiya; Shu, Rui; Tangirala, Subrahmaniam; Ekkirala, Srinivas (2019). "The Voice Bystander Effect: How Information Redundancy Inhibits Employee Voice". Academy of Management Journal. 62 (3): 828–849. doi:10.5465/amj.2017.0245. ISSN 0001-4273. S2CID 149823915.
^ Bicchieri, Cristina; Fukui, Yoshitaka (1999). "The Great Illusion: Ignorance, Informational Cascades, and the Persistence of Unpopular Norms". Experience, Reality, and Scientific Explanation. The Western Ontario Series in Philosophy of Science. Vol. 61. Springer Netherlands. pp. 89–121. doi:10.1007/978-94-015-9191-1_5. ISBN 978-94-015-9191-1. S2CID 66086524.

[:1-1] Philpot, Richard; Liebst, Lasse Suonperä; Levine, Mark; Bernasco, Wim; Lindegaard, Marie Rosenkrantz (2020). "Would I be helped? Cross-national CCTV footage shows that intervention is the norm in public conflicts" (PDF). American Psychologist. 75 (1): 66–75. doi:10.1037/amp0000469. hdl:10871/37604. ISSN 1935-990X. PMID 31157529. S2CID 173993332. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-03-11. Retrieved 2020-06-05.

[2] Hussain, Insiya; Shu, Rui; Tangirala, Subrahmaniam; Ekkirala, Srinivas (2019). "The Voice Bystander Effect: How Information Redundancy Inhibits Employee Voice". Academy of Management Journal. 62 (3): 828–849. doi:10.5465/amj.2017.0245. ISSN 0001-4273. S2CID 149823915.

[3] Bicchieri, Cristina; Fukui, Yoshitaka (1999). "The Great Illusion: Ignorance, Informational Cascades, and the Persistence of Unpopular Norms". Experience, Reality, and Scientific Explanation. The Western Ontario Series in Philosophy of Science. Vol. 61. Springer Netherlands. pp. 89–121. doi:10.1007/978-94-015-9191-1_5. ISBN 978-94-015-9191-1. S2CID 66086524.

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