A Lady in Distress (1969)
In an article by Bibb Latane and Judith Rodin, it was determined that the “presence of an unresponsive bystander strongly inhibited subjects from offering to help the injured woman” (pg. 194). In their study, individuals who heard what sounded like a woman falling and hurting herself assisted the “victim” 70% of the time, but the presence of one other person in the room who seemed unconcerned changed this number to 7%.
What does this mean for us?
“Safety in numbers” appears to be an inaccurate concept. We are heavily influenced socially by those around us. We rely on others for information about how we should react so we do not stand out too much or embarrass ourselves, and the larger the crowd, the more we are comfortable with the diffusion of responsibility, meaning we feel others should act instead.
To combat this: tell yourself that it is better to feel momentary embarrassment and help another person than it is to walk away and potentially feel guilty over a situation that you could have helped.