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Factors affecting bystander intervention

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Whether you help someone in trouble depends partly on who you are and partly on the situation you are in.

Situational factors

Number of bystanders: diffusion of responsibility means each person feels less responsible when others are present. In Darley and Latane's (1968) study, a participant who believed they were the only one hearing someone have a seizure was far more likely to help than one who believed others could hear too.
Ambiguity: if it is unclear whether it is an emergency, people look to others. If others do nothing, they assume it is fine (pluralistic ignorance).
Cost of helping: helping is less likely if it is risky, slow or unpleasant (Piliavin's arousal: cost-reward model).
Characteristics of the victim: for example, Piliavin et al. found an ill victim was helped more than a drunk one.
Time pressure: people in a hurry are less likely to stop.

Personal factors

Competence: people with relevant skills (for example first aid or medical training) are more likely to help.
Mood: people in a good mood are often more likely to help.
Similarity to the victim: we are more likely to help people like us.
Personality: Bierhoff et al. (1991) found that people who helped at road accidents tended to have more empathy, a stronger belief in a just world, a greater sense of social responsibility, an internal locus of control and lower egocentrism than people who did not.
Empathy: feeling the victim's distress can motivate helping.

Latane and Darley's decision model

A bystander must: notice the event; interpret it as an emergency; take responsibility; decide how to help; then act.
At each step, the presence of others can stop helping, for example by diffusing responsibility.
Evaluation: the model explains why help is often slow in crowds, but Piliavin et al. found no diffusion of responsibility on a New York subway train, where the victim was in plain view and could not easily be ignored.
Worked example

Explain why someone with first-aid training might help when others do not.

  1. Helping depends partly on personal factors.
  2. Competence makes them feel able to help and lowers the cost of helping.
  3. They may also feel more responsible.

Answer: Because of competence: their skills make them more confident and feel more responsible, so they are more likely to help.

Key idea

Situational factors: number of bystanders (diffusion of responsibility), ambiguity, cost of helping, the victim, and time pressure. Personal factors: competence, mood, similarity to the victim, empathy and personality traits such as social responsibility and an internal locus of control.

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