Darley and Latané

Darley and Latané are researchers known for their work on the bystander effect, which describes how people's likelihood of helping in an emergency decreases as more witnesses are present. They found that individuals often assume others will intervene, leading to diffusion of responsibility. Their experiments showed that in situations where multiple bystanders are present, people are less likely to take action because they expect someone else to do so. This research highlights how group dynamics and social cues influence helping behavior, emphasizing that simply being aware of this effect can encourage more proactive assistance in emergencies.