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Originally Posted by Mr Alex
What kind of tests? how could you simulate that, barring matrix style virtual reality.... (?)
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Bystander effect - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The bystander effect (also known as bystander apathy, Genovese syndrome, diffused responsibility or bystander intervention) is a psychological phenomenon in which someone is less likely to intervene in an emergency situation when other people are present and able to help than when he or she is alone.
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A 1968 study by John Darley, now a professor at Princeton University's Department of Psychology, and Bibb Latane first demonstrated the bystander effect in the laboratory. They ran some simple studies such as the following: A participant is placed alone in a room and is told he can communicate with other participants through an intercom. In reality, he is just listening to an audio recording and is told his microphone will be off until it is his turn to speak. During the recording, one participant suddenly pretends he is having a seizure. The study found that how long the participant waits before alerting the experimenter varies directly with the perceived number of other participants. In some cases, the participant never told the experimenter.
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Basicly, when you are the only person around to help, you feel 100% responsible for what happens. But when you are with 9 other people, you (and everyone else) only feel 10% responsible.