The two others, confederates of the study, showed no signs of concern and continued filling out their questionnaires. Repeatedly, the participants were influenced by the confederates' indifferent reactions and remained seated in the room. However, when alone in the room, about 75 percent of the students reacted within six minutes. The influence of a group plays a huge role in helping behavior. Many people follow social norms when in a group setting as they change their behavior to match others' responses (Rutkowski, Gruder, & Romer, 1983).
The bystander effect often deals with a phenomenon called diffusion of responsibility. Diffusion of responsibility is the notion that, with an increasing number of bystanders, the responsibility to help is dispersed (Darley & Latané, 1968). The belief that someone else will intervene relieves the pressure and people no longer feel as responsible to provide assistance in an urgent situation (Darley & Latané, 1968). A study conducted by John Darley and Bibb Latané (1968) observed participants' reactions to an individual appearing to have a seizure when believing either that they alone heard the seizure or, that one or four other unseen subjects were also present. .
The more people that the subject believed heard the seizure, the less likely he or she was to report the emergency (Darley & Latané, 1968). When the responsibility to provide assistance or call for help depended solely on the participant, he or she felt the need to intervene. The Kitty Genovese case is an example of how diffusion of responsibility can play out in the real world. Many of the neighbors probably assumed that someone else must have called the police or reported the attack. Another reason for not stepping in to help Kitty Genovese involved a matter of personal safety. Some of her neighbors admitted that they did not want to get involved because it was too risky (Darley & Latané, 1968).
