There are many things I will take with me throughout the years after having psychology this semester. I have learned that the world is not always as it may seem and people sometimes do things you would never expect. This is the case in the bystander effect.
The bystander effect is the phenomenon in which the more people present, the less likely someone is to help another person in distress. This happening is interesting to me because it of course seems as though the opposite would occur. After lecture and reading the text I found out that the larger the group, the less obligated people feel to help. The presence of others makes each individual person feel less responsible for the outcome. This feeling of having less responsibility in a crowd of others is also known as the diffusion of responsibility. Many people also may find the situation to be too dangerous or they just don't want to get involved.
This is something I will remember because it shocks and terrifies me. I would hope someone would stop to help me in an emergency instead of just walk by or expect someone else to help. I also hope that I would have the courage to step up to help when someone else is in need. I think I would, but you never really know how you are going to react until you are actually in the situation. Learning about this phenomenon has made me more conscientious of this occurrence and I feel like I will be more likely to take action. I know I will never forget the myth of "safety in numbers".
Nina Carney
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