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Define the psychological theory of diffusion of responsibility and state the primary social phenomenon (effect) it is hypothesized to explain.
Question: Define the psychological theory of diffusion of responsibility and state the primary social phenomenon (effect) it is hypothesized to explain.
Sample answer: Diffusion of responsibility is a psychological theory suggesting that in an emergency setting, each individual witness feels less personal obligation to intervene when others are present. This divided sense of accountability is the primary mechanism hypothesized to cause the bystander effect.
Key points:
- It applies to emergency settings.
- The presence of other witnesses reduces individual personal obligation to intervene.
- A divided sense of accountability is the central mechanism.
- It is hypothesized to be the primary cause of the bystander effect.
Rubric: The response must accurately define diffusion of responsibility, highlighting that witnesses feel less personal obligation to act in emergencies when others are present, and identify the bystander effect as the primary phenomenon explained by this theory.
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Research Methods in Psychology - 4th American Edition @ KPU
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Which of the following statements best describes the theory of diffusion of responsibility?
According to the theory of diffusion of responsibility, an individual witness is more likely to feel a full sense of personal accountability for intervening in an emergency if they believe they are the only person witnessing the event.
A researcher is designing an experiment to test how the number of perceived witnesses influences a person's sense of duty to help during a crisis. Arrange the following participant conditions in order from the HIGHEST level of personal accountability felt by the participant to the LOWEST level of personal accountability, according to the theory of diffusion of responsibility.
An investigator is analyzing qualitative data from an experiment where participants witnessed a staged emergency. Match each participant's internal reflection to the specific theoretical component of diffusion of responsibility it best illustrates.
A researcher is constructing a new experimental protocol to isolate the 'Diffusion of Responsibility' mechanism from other social influences. To create a condition where a participant's sense of personal duty is divided among a group without the participant being able to observe how others are reacting, which of the following designs should the researcher implement?
A researcher evaluates a witness who failed to help in an emergency despite believing that many others were also present. If the researcher finds that the witness's sense of personal accountability was not divided or reduced by the presence of others, they should _____ the theory of diffusion of responsibility as the valid explanation for the inaction.
According to the theory of diffusion of responsibility, each individual witness feels less personal obligation to intervene in an emergency because their sense of accountability is _____ among the witnesses present.
A researcher stages an emergency in two conditions: in Condition A, each participant believes they are one of five witnesses; in Condition B, each participant believes they are the sole witness. According to diffusion of responsibility, participants in Condition A will feel a greater personal obligation to help than those in Condition B.
A researcher is analyzing how diffusion of responsibility operates across different bystander scenarios. Match each scenario to the role it plays in explaining or demonstrating the theory.
A research team concludes that diffusion of responsibility caused the bystander effect observed in their experiment. Arrange the following evaluative steps in the order a critical reviewer should complete them to judge whether that causal conclusion is justified.
Define the psychological theory of diffusion of responsibility and state the primary social phenomenon (effect) it is hypothesized to explain.
Based on the theory of diffusion of responsibility, explain why the participants in Condition B felt less personal obligation to report the smoke than the participants in Condition A.
Imagine you are designing an experimental study to test diffusion of responsibility in an online chat room setting. In one to three sentences, describe how you would operationally manipulate the independent variable of 'perceived presence of others' to study its effect on a participant's willingness to help a user experiencing a medical crisis.