The Bystander Effect in Non-Emergency Situations: Influence of Gender and Group Size

Although research on the bystander effect spans 50 years, the influence of some variables on prosocial behavior are still unclear. In a field experiment, I tried to replicate the basic bystander effect in three non-emergency situations, and studied the impact of bystander and “victim” gender on helping behavior. I successfully replicated the basic bystander effect; bystanders who were alone were significantly more likely to help than bystanders with one or more than one companion. In addition, when people noticed the need for help, a male and a female confederate were helped equally as often. Finally, women were more likely to help both confederates than men, but that men were more likely to help the female confederate than the male confederate