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Factors That Can Help Overcome the Bystander Effect

Witnessing Helping Behavior

Sometimes just seeing other people doing something kind or helpful makes us more willing to help others.

Researchers have found that when we observe other people engaging in prosocial behaviors, such as donating blood, we are more likely to do the same, according to a study published in 2019.

Being Observant

One of the key reasons people often fail to take action when help is needed is that they do not notice what is happening until it is too late. Ambiguous situations can also make it difficult to determine if help is truly needed.

In one famous experiment published in 1968, participants were less likely to respond when smoke began to fill a room when the other people in the room also failed to respond. Since no one else was taking action, people assumed that there must not be an emergency.

Staying alert and attuned to your situation, rather than relying purely on the responses of those around you, can help you best decide how to react.

Being Skilled and Knowledgeable

When faced with an emergency situation, knowing what to do greatly increases the likelihood that a person will take action. How can you apply this to your own life?

While you certainly cannot be prepared for every possible event that might transpire, taking first aid classes and receiving CPR training could help you feel more competent and prepared to deal with potential emergencies.

Guilt

Having a Personal Relationship

Simple behaviors such as making direct eye contact and engaging in small talk can increase the likelihood that a person will come to your aid.

If you are in trouble, single out an individual from the crowd, make eye contact, and directly ask for assistance instead of making a general plea to the group.

Seeing Others as Deserving of Help

People are also more likely to help others if they think that the person truly deserves it. In one classic study, participants were more likely to give money to a stranger if they believed that the individual’s wallet had been stolen rather than that the person had simply spent all their money.

This might explain why some people are more willing to give money to the homeless while others are not. Those who believe that homeless people are in their situation due to laziness or unwillingness to work are less likely to give money while those who believe that these individuals are genuinely deserving of help are more likely to provide assistance.

Feeling Good

Feeling good about ourselves can contribute to prosocial behaviors. People who feel happy or successful are more likely to lend assistance, and even relatively small events can trigger such feelings.

Hearing your favorite song on the radio, enjoying a warm summer day, or successfully completing an important task at work can leave you feeling joyful and competent and more likely to help out another person in need. This is often referred to as the “feel good, do good” effect.

7 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Beyer F, Sidarus N, Bonicalzi S, Haggard P.Beyond self-serving bias: diffusion of responsibility reduces sense of agency and outcome monitoring.Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2017;12(1):138‐145. doi:10.1093/scan/nsw160Schweinfurth MK, Call J.Reciprocity: Different behavioural strategies, cognitive mechanisms and psychological processes.Learn Behav. 2019;47(4):284‐301. doi:10.3758/s13420-019-00394-5Studte S, Clement M, Soliman M, Boenigk S.Blood donors and their changing engagement in other prosocial behaviors.Transfusion. 2019;59(3):1002-1015. doi:10.1111/trf.15085Darley JM, Latané B.Bystander Intervention in Emergencies: Diffusion of Responsibility.J Pers Soc Psychol.1968;8(4):377-383. doi:10.1037/h0025589Aakvaag HF, Thoresen S, Wentzel-Larsen T, Røysamb E, Dyb G.Shame and guilt in the aftermath of terror: the Utøya Island study.J Trauma Stress. 2014;27(5):618‐621. doi:10.1002/jts.21957Hortensius R, de Gelder B.From Empathy to Apathy: The Bystander Effect Revisited.Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2018 Aug;27(4):249-256. doi:10.1177/0963721417749653Raihani NJ, Bshary R.Why humans might help strangers.Front Behav Neurosci. 2015;9:39. Published 2015 Feb 20. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00039

7 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Beyer F, Sidarus N, Bonicalzi S, Haggard P.Beyond self-serving bias: diffusion of responsibility reduces sense of agency and outcome monitoring.Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2017;12(1):138‐145. doi:10.1093/scan/nsw160Schweinfurth MK, Call J.Reciprocity: Different behavioural strategies, cognitive mechanisms and psychological processes.Learn Behav. 2019;47(4):284‐301. doi:10.3758/s13420-019-00394-5Studte S, Clement M, Soliman M, Boenigk S.Blood donors and their changing engagement in other prosocial behaviors.Transfusion. 2019;59(3):1002-1015. doi:10.1111/trf.15085Darley JM, Latané B.Bystander Intervention in Emergencies: Diffusion of Responsibility.J Pers Soc Psychol.1968;8(4):377-383. doi:10.1037/h0025589Aakvaag HF, Thoresen S, Wentzel-Larsen T, Røysamb E, Dyb G.Shame and guilt in the aftermath of terror: the Utøya Island study.J Trauma Stress. 2014;27(5):618‐621. doi:10.1002/jts.21957Hortensius R, de Gelder B.From Empathy to Apathy: The Bystander Effect Revisited.Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2018 Aug;27(4):249-256. doi:10.1177/0963721417749653Raihani NJ, Bshary R.Why humans might help strangers.Front Behav Neurosci. 2015;9:39. Published 2015 Feb 20. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00039

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Beyer F, Sidarus N, Bonicalzi S, Haggard P.Beyond self-serving bias: diffusion of responsibility reduces sense of agency and outcome monitoring.Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2017;12(1):138‐145. doi:10.1093/scan/nsw160Schweinfurth MK, Call J.Reciprocity: Different behavioural strategies, cognitive mechanisms and psychological processes.Learn Behav. 2019;47(4):284‐301. doi:10.3758/s13420-019-00394-5Studte S, Clement M, Soliman M, Boenigk S.Blood donors and their changing engagement in other prosocial behaviors.Transfusion. 2019;59(3):1002-1015. doi:10.1111/trf.15085Darley JM, Latané B.Bystander Intervention in Emergencies: Diffusion of Responsibility.J Pers Soc Psychol.1968;8(4):377-383. doi:10.1037/h0025589Aakvaag HF, Thoresen S, Wentzel-Larsen T, Røysamb E, Dyb G.Shame and guilt in the aftermath of terror: the Utøya Island study.J Trauma Stress. 2014;27(5):618‐621. doi:10.1002/jts.21957Hortensius R, de Gelder B.From Empathy to Apathy: The Bystander Effect Revisited.Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2018 Aug;27(4):249-256. doi:10.1177/0963721417749653Raihani NJ, Bshary R.Why humans might help strangers.Front Behav Neurosci. 2015;9:39. Published 2015 Feb 20. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00039

Beyer F, Sidarus N, Bonicalzi S, Haggard P.Beyond self-serving bias: diffusion of responsibility reduces sense of agency and outcome monitoring.Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2017;12(1):138‐145. doi:10.1093/scan/nsw160

Schweinfurth MK, Call J.Reciprocity: Different behavioural strategies, cognitive mechanisms and psychological processes.Learn Behav. 2019;47(4):284‐301. doi:10.3758/s13420-019-00394-5

Studte S, Clement M, Soliman M, Boenigk S.Blood donors and their changing engagement in other prosocial behaviors.Transfusion. 2019;59(3):1002-1015. doi:10.1111/trf.15085

Darley JM, Latané B.Bystander Intervention in Emergencies: Diffusion of Responsibility.J Pers Soc Psychol.1968;8(4):377-383. doi:10.1037/h0025589

Aakvaag HF, Thoresen S, Wentzel-Larsen T, Røysamb E, Dyb G.Shame and guilt in the aftermath of terror: the Utøya Island study.J Trauma Stress. 2014;27(5):618‐621. doi:10.1002/jts.21957

Hortensius R, de Gelder B.From Empathy to Apathy: The Bystander Effect Revisited.Curr Dir Psychol Sci. 2018 Aug;27(4):249-256. doi:10.1177/0963721417749653

Raihani NJ, Bshary R.Why humans might help strangers.Front Behav Neurosci. 2015;9:39. Published 2015 Feb 20. doi:10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00039

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