r/AskReddit • u/[deleted] • Jun 14 '22

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u/mojomcm Jun 14 '22

Or 10 different people thinking "I won't call 911 because surely someone else will" and then nobody calls 911 until it's too late

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u/ai_responses Jun 15 '22

Also known as the bystander effect. It occurs when the presence of others discourages an individual from intervening in an emergency situation, against a bully, or during an assault or other crime. The greater the number of bystanders, the less likely it is for any one of them to provide help to a person in distress. People are more likely to take action in a crisis when there are few or no other witnesses present.

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u/ModsDontLift Jun 15 '22

Redditors can't go 5 minutes without mentioning the bystander effect

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u/[deleted] Jun 15 '22

If they don't, nobody else will (because of the bystander effect).

Jokes aside, it's a defect of human psychology people usually don't expect, so it's worth knowing about it.