Lecture 17 - Latane & Darley Flashcards
When and where was Bibb Latané born?
Born on July 19, 1937, in New York City.
What are some of the key academic positions held by Bibb Latané?
Latané held positions at Columbia University, Ohio State University, and was the Director of the Institute for Research in Social Science at UNC.
Where did John Darley complete his undergraduate and graduate studies?
Darley completed his B.A. at Swarthmore College, his M.A. at Harvard University, and his Ph.D. at Harvard under Elliot Aronson.
What tragic event prompted Latané & Darley’s study on bystander intervention?
The murder of Kitty Genovese in 1964, where 38 witnesses reportedly failed to intervene as she was attacked.
What did the New York Times article claim about the Kitty Genovese murder?
It claimed that 38 witnesses watched the attack without intervening, leading to a public outcry and questions about social and moral breakdown.
What does the bystander hypothesis proposed by Latané & Darley suggest?
It suggests an inverse relationship between the number of bystanders and the likelihood of emergency helping—more bystanders lead to less helping.
What are the five steps in Latané & Darley’s cognitive model for bystander intervention?
- Notice something is happening
- Interpret the event as an emergency
- Take responsibility for providing help
- Decide how to act
- Provide help
What is pluralistic ignorance in the context of bystander behavior?
It occurs when individuals look to others for cues about how to respond, and in the absence of action from others, they interpret the situation as non-emergent, leading to inaction.
What is diffusion of responsibility?
When multiple people are present in an emergency, the responsibility to intervene is spread across the group, decreasing the likelihood that any one person will take action.
What was the key finding from Latané & Darley’s White Smoke Experiment?
Participants were less likely to report smoke when in a group with passive confederates, demonstrating the effects of pluralistic ignorance.
In the Seizure Experiment, how did group size affect participants’ responses?
The larger the group size, the less likely participants were to intervene in the emergency (a seizure), illustrating diffusion of responsibility.
What does Latané & Darley’s bystander hypothesis say about the number of bystanders and intervention?
As the number of bystanders increases, the likelihood of intervention decreases.
What new insights were revealed about the Kitty Genovese case in 2007?
Court proceedings suggested fewer than 38 witnesses, and only 3 people actually saw the attacker. Some residents did call the police but were ignored.
What critique has been made about Latané & Darley’s bystander experiments?
Their experiments often do not simulate violent situations like the Kitty Genovese case, which raises questions about the applicability to real-world violence.
What did studies using CCTV footage find about bystander intervention in violent incidents?
In contrast to Latané & Darley’s findings, CCTV studies showed that bystanders are more likely to intervene, especially when multiple bystanders are present.
How does the relationship between the bystander and the victim affect intervention?
Bystanders are more likely to intervene if they share a social identity with the victim or if group norms support helping.
What did the 2011 study by Levine et al. find about bystander intervention?
It found that when multiple bystanders intervene, the situation becomes less violent and more conciliatory, with successful interventions involving 3 or more bystanders.
What were the four reasons Latané & Nida (1981) gave for the widespread interest in the bystander effect?
- Mundane realism
- Experimental realism
- Theoretical framework
- Counterintuitive and powerful phenomenon
What did Fischer et al.’s meta-analysis (2011) conclude about the bystander effect?
It found a small to moderate effect size of -0.35, with stronger effects for non-dangerous situations and when the perpetrator is not present.
What is a key component of effective bystander and ally training?
Successful interventions often involve fostering a shared identity and norms within a group to encourage intervention.
What other forms of helping behavior have been linked to the bystander effect beyond emergencies?
It has been applied to charitable giving, collective action, witness testimony, and international aid, demonstrating its broad impact.
