"Hey You, in the Green Shirt!" How to Get Help When you Need it

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If you were to have your bag stolen while you were picnicking at the park, would you rather be in an area that was full of families having picnics, or somewhere more desolate where there were only one or two other people around? The intuitive answer is an area full of families – someone is more likely to have seen something, right? Counter-intuitively, psychological research suggests you would be better off in a desolate area with only one or two other people around. Researchers have found time and time again that as the number of people in a crowd increases, people are less likely to help because they experience diffusion of responsibility, creating what social psychologists call the "bystander effect." That is, people's sense of responsibility to help decreases as the size of the crowd increases, so the more people there are around, the less likely it is that any one person will lend a helping hand. No one helps because they assume someone else will. People also tend to look to others for information, so if we look around and see that no one is helping, we assume that means that no help is needed. So how do we get help when we need it?

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If you are unlucky enough to need help when you are somewhere crowded, don’t simply scream, cry, or say “somebody help me!” First, make it clear that you are having a crisis and let people know what the problem is, such as "Someone stole my bag!" Second, instill a sense of responsibility in people by calling them out one by one. Point to people, identify them in some way, and make a specific request, such as "Hey you, in the green shirt, call 911!"

Knowing how to get help when you need it is important, but more often we find ourselves in the position of the bystander rather than the victim. The next time you see someone in a crowd who looks like they may be in need of help, but no one seems to be helping them, say no to the bystander effect and respond as if you were alone with the victim.

As a final note -- diffusion of responsibility has consequences beyond times of crisis. You may witness this effect in action any time you are part of a group where no one is being held personally accountable for group outcomes. For example, when all of the employees in a large company are asked to help pay for a farewell gift for a coworker by putting a dollar in an envelope in the lunch room, the larger the company, the less likely it is that any one person will actually put in their dollar. Instilling a sense of responsibility in people, such as asking people to write their name on a list when they've put in their dollar, is also effective for getting help in these types of situations.

Have you ever been in this type of situation, either as the victim or the bystander? Was there a large crowd around?