Bystander Effects and Decision Model of Helping

These flashcards cover key concepts related to the bystander effect and the decision model of helping, including definitions and steps involved in the helping process.

Bystander Effect

Inhibition of helping due to the presence of others, often observed in emergency situations.

Kitty Genovese Case

A famous incident in 1964 where multiple witnesses failed to help Kitty Genovese during an assault, illustrating the bystander effect.

Decision Model of Helping

A framework proposed by Latane & Darley (1968) outlining the steps involved in deciding to help in emergency situations.

Step 1: Attend to emergent event

The first step in the decision model, where one must notice the event, but risk distraction may hinder this.

Step 2: Interpret event as emergency

The process of recognizing a situation as an emergency, which can be complicated by ambiguity and pluralistic ignorance.

Step 3: Assign responsibility

Determining who is responsible to help, influenced by diffusion of responsibility and differing group memberships.

Step 4: Intention to help

The decision-making phase where an individual intends to assist but might face uncertainty on how to help.

Step 5: Help!

The final action of helping, which can be affected by feelings of embarrassment or other potential costs.