Why do bystanders often fail to help in an emergency?
Bystander behaviour: the bystander effect and diffusion of responsibility, and the situational and personal factors that affect whether people help.
A focused answer to AQA GCSE Psychology 3.5, covering bystander behaviour, the bystander effect and diffusion of responsibility, and the situational and personal factors that affect whether people help in an emergency.
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What this dot point is asking
AQA wants you to explain the bystander effect and diffusion of responsibility, and describe the situational and personal factors that affect whether people help in an emergency. This is part of Social influence in Paper 2, examined with explanation and applied scenario items, so be ready to apply the factors to a described situation.
The bystander effect and diffusion of responsibility
Situational and personal factors
Whether a bystander helps depends on more than just numbers.
- Situational factors: the number of people present (more bystanders, less help, via diffusion of responsibility); the cost of helping (people are less likely to help if it is dangerous, difficult or time-consuming); and how clear the emergency is (an ambiguous situation makes people hesitate and look to others, which can lead to pluralistic ignorance, where everyone stays calm because no one else is reacting).
- Personal factors: competence (people who feel able to help, such as a trained first-aider, are more likely to act); mood (people in a good mood tend to help more); and similarity to the victim (people are more likely to help someone they see as similar to themselves).
Try this
Q1. Define the bystander effect. [2 marks]
- Cue. People are less likely to help when others are present, and less likely as the number of bystanders rises.
Q2. Explain diffusion of responsibility. [2 marks]
- Cue. When many people are present, responsibility feels shared, so each person feels less personally obliged to help.
Q3. Identify one personal factor that makes helping more likely. [1 mark]
- Cue. Competence (feeling able to help), good mood, or similarity to the victim.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of AQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
AQA 20184 marksExplain the bystander effect and diffusion of responsibility. (Paper 2, Section A)Show worked answer →
A 4-mark Explain item rewards a definition of the bystander effect plus the role of diffusion of responsibility.
The bystander effect is the finding that people are less likely to help a person in need when other people are present, and the more bystanders there are, the less likely any individual is to help. Diffusion of responsibility is one explanation for this: when many people are present, each person feels that the responsibility to act is shared out among everyone, so no single person feels personally obliged to help and each assumes someone else will. This is why a victim in a crowd may receive no help even though many people could act.
Markers reward the definition of the bystander effect (less help with more people present) and the explanation via diffusion of responsibility (shared, so reduced, personal responsibility).
AQA 20214 marksExplain how two factors can affect whether a bystander helps in an emergency. (Paper 2, Section A)Show worked answer →
A 4-mark Explain item rewards two developed factors (one situational, one personal is ideal).
Situational factor: the number of people present matters, because the more bystanders there are, the more responsibility is diffused and the less likely any one person is to help. Personal factor: the competence or expertise of the bystander matters, because someone who feels able to help (for example, a trained first-aider) is more likely to act than someone who feels unable to help. Other creditworthy factors include the cost of helping (danger or effort) and similarity to the victim.
Markers reward two clearly explained factors and how each raises or lowers the chance of helping.
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Sources & how we know this
- AQA GCSE Psychology (8182) specification — AQA (2017)