Summary post-discussion #2 whodunnit?
Learning goals
What are the effects of environmental factors on helping behavior?
Environmental factors
1. Group dynamics
2. Arousal
3. Size of group
4. Personal factors
5. Emotions
Group dynamics
5 steps of Latané and Darley’s cognitive model
1. Do we notice the emergency/event? Depends on many factors such as:
Mood > self-absorption
Stimulus overload
2. Do we define the event as an emergency? > Pluralistic ignorance?
3. Do we feel responsible for the situation? > diffusion of responsibility?
4. Do we decide to help? > audience inhibition
5. Help
In all 5 steps personal circumstance obviously plays a big role>
Bystander effect:
Failure to help because of the following phenomena:
Diffusion of responsibility
Presence of onlookers takes away personal responsibility because everyone could
offer help.
The cost of not helping is divided amongst all the onlookers, less personal distress,
easier to refrain from helping
Audience inhibition
Fear of social blunders/seeming foolish.
People don’t want to overreact
Social influence
Other onlookers are a model for action. (they act casual>situation seems casual)
Pluralistic ignorance
= ambiguous situation > uncertainty > misinterpreting the others’ inaction as > the
situation is not serious/and emergency
In the 3 in 1 experiment it’s proven that the 3 phenomena contribute to the strength of the
bystander effect.
Cubicle with
- monitor of shock room
- monitor of 2nd cubicle
- camera pointed to them
Learning goals
What are the effects of environmental factors on helping behavior?
Environmental factors
1. Group dynamics
2. Arousal
3. Size of group
4. Personal factors
5. Emotions
Group dynamics
5 steps of Latané and Darley’s cognitive model
1. Do we notice the emergency/event? Depends on many factors such as:
Mood > self-absorption
Stimulus overload
2. Do we define the event as an emergency? > Pluralistic ignorance?
3. Do we feel responsible for the situation? > diffusion of responsibility?
4. Do we decide to help? > audience inhibition
5. Help
In all 5 steps personal circumstance obviously plays a big role>
Bystander effect:
Failure to help because of the following phenomena:
Diffusion of responsibility
Presence of onlookers takes away personal responsibility because everyone could
offer help.
The cost of not helping is divided amongst all the onlookers, less personal distress,
easier to refrain from helping
Audience inhibition
Fear of social blunders/seeming foolish.
People don’t want to overreact
Social influence
Other onlookers are a model for action. (they act casual>situation seems casual)
Pluralistic ignorance
= ambiguous situation > uncertainty > misinterpreting the others’ inaction as > the
situation is not serious/and emergency
In the 3 in 1 experiment it’s proven that the 3 phenomena contribute to the strength of the
bystander effect.
Cubicle with
- monitor of shock room
- monitor of 2nd cubicle
- camera pointed to them
