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Psychology vocabulary · Social Psychology

Bystander effect

Meaning in psychology, with examples

nounCommon term

In psychology, bystander effect means: The finding that people are less likely to help someone in an emergency when other people are present, partly because responsibility feels shared.

In Turkish: seyirci etkisi, seyirci kayıtsızlığı

How it is used

Studied by John Darley and Bibb Latané in the late 1960s. Explanations include diffusion of responsibility and pluralistic ignorance. Recent analyses of real public incidents suggest that in most cases someone does intervene.

Example sentences

  1. In a classic bystander effect study, participants who were alone reported the smoke much faster than those in groups.

  2. Pointing to one person and asking them directly for help can reduce the bystander effect.

Common collocations

  • diffusion of responsibility
  • bystander intervention
  • pluralistic ignorance
  • conformityChanging one's behaviour or beliefs to match those of a group because of real or imagined pressure from others.
  • obedienceFollowing a direct order from a person seen as an authority, even when it conflicts with one's own judgement or values.
  • social identityThe part of a person's self-concept that comes from belonging to social groups, such as a nation, profession, team or religion, and from the value attached to that membership.
  • attitudeA fairly lasting evaluation of a person, group, object or idea that combines beliefs, feelings and a tendency to act in a positive or negative way.

More terms: Social Psychology

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