The Bystander Effect and How to Break It

by Jennifer John

I recently heard about a part of psychology that I hadn’t been fully aware of before, but it seems especially pertinent to all of us who hope to practice social justice in today’s society. I saw a video on the YouTube channel “Parkrose Permaculture” by Angela, who lives in Oregon. She described the “bystander effect.” She referenced several articles, and one was Simplypsychology.org which defines the “bystander effect” as “a social psychological phenomenon where individuals are less likely to help a victim when others are present. The greater the number of bystanders, the less likely any one of them is to help.”

If a large number of people are present during a crisis, each person may think, “Surely someone else is going to do something.” That is in contrast with a situation where you are the only other person there. You would feel solely responsible because there is no one else to step in.

Something else that contributes to the bystander effect is that people are expected to behave in “correct and socially acceptable” ways while in a crowd. No one wants to misjudge the situation and be embarrassed. Also, everyone may be gauging everyone else’s reaction and think that if no one else is acting that maybe it’s not a true emergency.

It may be easy for each of us to think that if we were witnessing an emergency situation in public that, of course, we would jump right in to help, but the bystander effect is real and if we’re unaware of it’s impact, we might be frozen on the sidelines, not doing anything. However, just knowing about it might be enough to help us in that moment.

In 1970, social psychologists Latané and Darley proposed a five-stage model called the “Decision Model of Helping,” explaining why bystanders may or may not decide to intervene. “At each stage in the model, the answer ‘No’ results in no help being given, while the answer ‘yes’ leads the individual closer to offering help.

1. The bystander must notice that something is amiss.
2. The bystander must define that situation as an emergency.
3. The bystander must assess how personally responsible they feel.
4. The bystander must decide how best to offer assistance.
5. The bystander must act on that decision.”

Angela goes on to offer some advice on how to break the bystander effect and reminds us that it’s also important to remember that we don’t want to match violence with violence. We are trying to de-escalate the situation.
The first thing you can do is use your voice- step up and say, “This is not ok, stop.” Enough voices saying “stop” might be all it takes.

Another step is to take out your phone and document what’s happening. If you think the situation has become serious enough to get law enforcement involved, ask the victim, if possible, “Do you want me to call the police?”

If you can’t physically get involved, make eye contact with another bystander and say, “You, help this person; they need help.”

If you are a victim: Point at people in the crowd, make eye contact, and say, “You, help me.” If you know anyone’s name in the crowd, call them by name rather than just yelling, “Help!”

Just learning about this psychological phenomenon makes you more likely to overcome it in the moment. Please check out the links below to articles and the video by Parkrose Permaculture:

“You Need to Understand the Bystander Effect and How to Overcome It”
Parkrose Permaculture YouTube Channel Video

“Bystander Effect in Psychology”
Simply Psychology Website

“How to Break Free of the Bystander Effect and Help Someone in Trouble”
Popular Science Website