Practice question · Put in order
Latane and Darley describe helping as a chain of five decisions, any one of which can stop it. Put them in the order a would-be helper must pass through.
- Decide to act, and step in.
- Assume personal responsibility for doing something about it.
- Notice that something is happening at all.
- Work out that you know how to help.
- Interpret the event as a genuine emergency.
Hints
- The chain runs from perception, through judgement, to ownership, to competence, to action.
- Deciding that it is an emergency must come before deciding that it is YOUR emergency.
Show the answer
- Notice that something is happening at all.
- Interpret the event as a genuine emergency.
- Assume personal responsibility for doing something about it.
- Work out that you know how to help.
- Decide to act, and step in.
Why
The order matters because it locates WHERE a crowd does its damage: a crowd rarely stops you noticing, but it attacks steps 2 and 3 - it makes the event look non-urgent (everyone is calm) and makes the duty feel shared. A no at any single step ends the chain, which is how decent people end up not helping.
Practise The Bystander Effect and the Diffusion of Responsibility
The app has 6 more questions on this lesson, and keeps your place in the course. Psychology I is free to start.
More questions on The Bystander Effect and the Diffusion of Responsibility
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- Match each clue to what it identifies.
- Select every change that would WEAKEN the bystander effect and make helping more likely.