Literature Review on the Bystander Effect It is said that when more bystanders are around, the chance a victim in need will not get the help they need right away. Many people …show more content…
Darley and Latane (1964) had subjects fill out questionnaires in a room that was beginning to fill with smoke. Condition one had a participant who was alone. Condition two had three naïve participants, and condition three has one naive participant and two confederates who showed they knew the smoke was there but ignored it. Results showed that 75% of the alone participants calmly noticed the smoke, left the room, and reported it, 10% of the participants with the confederates reported it, and the condition with the three naïve participants only 38% reported the smoke. Other studies have shown that when people are together, it reduces fear even when the danger isn’t reduced. This study showed that the people who didn’t act was because they didn’t see the situation as threatening and therefore couldn’t follow the Five Steps to Helping method because the first step is to recognize that there is an