Are Victims Truly Worse Off in the Presence of Bystanders? Revisiting the Bystander Effect

Hanna Fromell, Daniele Nosenzo, Trudy Owens and Fabio Tufano

No 2017-15, Discussion Papers from The Centre for Decision Research and Experimental Economics, School of Economics, University of Nottingham

Abstract: Previous studies have shown that individuals are less likely to help a person in need when there are 'bystanders' present who can also offer help. We designed an experiment to re-examine this 'bystander effect' using modified dictator games. We find lower giving rates in the presence of bystanders, confirming the existence of a bystander effect. However, we also show that the recipient's welfare is greater when bystanders are present, challenging the usual interpretation that the bystander effect is due to an erosion of prosocial values.

Keywords: bystander effect; bystander dilemma; diffusion of responsibility; dictator game; social norms (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp and nep-gth
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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Journal Article: Are Victims Truly Worse Off in the Presence of Bystanders? Revisiting the Bystander Effect (2019)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:not:notcdx:2017-15

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