Prosocial Behaviour » Presence of Others

What you'll learn this session

Study time: 30 minutes

How the presence of others affects our behaviour
Social facilitation and social inhibition effects
Zajonc's theory of social facilitation
Bystander behaviour and the bystander effect
Factors that influence helping behaviour
Key research studies on the presence of others

Introduction to Prosocial Behaviour: Presence of Others

Have you ever noticed that you perform differently when other people are watching you? Maybe you play better in a sports match when there's a crowd, or perhaps you get nervous and make mistakes during a class presentation. These reactions are related to how the presence of others affects our behaviour - a fascinating area of social psychology.

Key Definitions:

Prosocial behaviour: Any action intended to benefit another person or society as a whole.
Social facilitation: The tendency for people to perform better on simple tasks when others are present.
Social inhibition: The tendency for people to perform worse on complex tasks when others are present.
Bystander effect: The phenomenon where individuals are less likely to help in an emergency when other people are present.

👥 Social Facilitation

When the presence of others improves our performance. This typically happens with simple or well-practised tasks. For example, a professional footballer might score more goals when playing in front of a cheering crowd.

👎 Social Inhibition

When the presence of others makes our performance worse. This typically happens with complex or unfamiliar tasks. For example, you might forget your lines during a school play when facing an audience for the first time.

Zajonc's Theory of Social Facilitation (1965)

Robert Zajonc proposed an explanation for why the presence of others sometimes helps and sometimes hinders our performance. His theory suggests that the presence of others increases our general arousal (alertness and readiness to respond).

How Arousal Affects Performance

According to Zajonc, increased arousal has different effects depending on the task:

🟢 Simple Tasks

For easy or well-practised tasks, increased arousal helps performance. The dominant (most likely) response is the correct one, so arousal makes us perform better.

🔴 Complex Tasks

For difficult or new tasks, increased arousal harms performance. The dominant response is often incorrect, so arousal makes us more likely to make mistakes.

Research Study: Triplett (1898)

Norman Triplett conducted one of the earliest studies on social facilitation. He observed that cyclists rode faster when racing against others compared to racing alone against the clock. This led him to investigate whether the presence of others improved performance. In his experiment, children were asked to wind fishing reels either alone or alongside another child. He found that most children wound the reels faster when in the presence of another child.

The Bystander Effect

While sometimes the presence of others improves our performance, in emergency situations, it can actually reduce our likelihood of helping someone in need. This phenomenon is known as the bystander effect.

Understanding the Bystander Effect

The bystander effect describes how people are less likely to help someone in an emergency when other people are present. The more bystanders there are, the less likely any individual is to help.

👀 Diffusion of Responsibility

When many people witness an emergency, each person feels less responsible for taking action. "Someone else will help" becomes the common thought.

🤔 Pluralistic Ignorance

People look to others to interpret a situation. If no one is reacting as if there's an emergency, individuals assume it's not actually an emergency.

😬 Evaluation Apprehension

Fear of being judged negatively by others if we misinterpret the situation or respond inappropriately.

Case Study Focus: Kitty Genovese (1964)

The murder of Kitty Genovese in New York sparked research into the bystander effect. Initial reports claimed 38 witnesses watched or heard the attack but did nothing to help. Although later investigations revealed this account was exaggerated, the case inspired psychologists Darley and Latané to study why people might not help in emergencies when others are present. Their research established the bystander effect as a real phenomenon.

Factors That Influence Helping Behaviour

Several factors can increase or decrease the likelihood that someone will help in the presence of others:

👍 Factors That Increase Helping

Clear emergency: When the situation is clearly dangerous
Competence: Having skills relevant to the emergency
Familiarity: Knowing the victim
Being asked directly: Direct requests for help
Fewer bystanders: Less diffusion of responsibility

👎 Factors That Decrease Helping

Ambiguous situation: Unclear if help is needed
Large number of bystanders: More diffusion of responsibility
Lack of skills: Feeling unable to help effectively
Time pressure: Being in a hurry
Urban environment: People in cities tend to help less

Key Research Studies on the Presence of Others

Darley and Latané (1968): Smoke-Filled Room Study

Participants were placed in a room that gradually filled with smoke. When alone, 75% reported the smoke. When with two passive confederates (actors who ignored the smoke), only 10% reported it. This demonstrated how the reactions of others influence our interpretation of a situation and our willingness to act.

Piliavin et al. (1969): Subway Samaritan Study

Researchers staged emergencies on a subway where a person collapsed. They found that helping was more likely when:

The victim appeared to be ill rather than drunk
The emergency was clear rather than ambiguous
The cost of helping was low

This study showed that even with bystanders present, people will help if the situation is clearly an emergency and the cost of helping is low.

Real-World Application: Emergency Response

Understanding the bystander effect has led to changes in how emergency services operate. Many emergency services now train call handlers to give specific instructions to callers, such as "You, in the red shirt, apply pressure to the wound" rather than general requests like "Can someone help?" This direct approach helps overcome the diffusion of responsibility that occurs in groups.

Evaluation of Research on the Presence of Others

💡 Strengths

Strong experimental support for both social facilitation and the bystander effect
Real-world applications in emergency response training
Helps explain everyday social behaviour

⚠ Limitations

Many studies lack ecological validity (laboratory settings differ from real emergencies)
Ethical concerns about creating fake emergencies
Cultural differences in helping behaviour aren't always considered

Summary: How the Presence of Others Affects Us

The presence of others has complex effects on our behaviour:

It can improve performance on simple, well-practised tasks (social facilitation)
It can worsen performance on complex, unfamiliar tasks (social inhibition)
It can reduce our likelihood of helping in emergencies (bystander effect)
Various factors can increase or decrease these effects

Understanding these effects helps us predict human behaviour in social situations and can guide interventions to promote helping behaviour when it's needed most.

🧠 Test Your Knowledge!