THE BYSTANDER EFFECT IN FACEBOOK LIVE VIDEOS: EXPLORING HOW COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATIONS AFFECT INTERVENTION

Abstract

The bystander effect refers to the phenomenon that an individual’s likelihood of helping decreases as the number of passive bystanders increases. One of the psychological processes that contributes to a lack of intervention is the diffusion of responsibility, whereby the knowledge that others are present shifts some of the responsibility for providing help to them. The present research aimed to account for a diffusion of responsibility within the context of live videos on Facbook. A 4 (0 vs. 4 vs. 49 vs. 224 viewers) X 2 (urgent vs. non-urgent video) between-subjects design was employed (n = 219). It moved away from previous paradigms of e-mail help requests and cyberbullying stimulus, and focused on a social media context instead. Results showed no classic bystander effect, but found some evidence for the social influence model, which states that diffusion of responsibility effects will cease to become significantly stronger beyond a certain critical number of bystanders. Urgent situations have been found to reverse the bystander effect in offline settings. In this study, it did lead to greater intervention rates, but had no interaction effect with the number of other viewers. Additionally, the bystander intervention model, which outlines five steps of the intervention decision-making process, was tested. Results showed a linear path for the last three steps. Developing a feeling of responsibility predicted believing that one had the necessary skills and resources to act, which led to the intention to intervene. The effects of computer-mediated communications on the manifestation of the bystander effect online was discussed.