Someone on the street is in trouble and in need of assistance. Do people help or just keep walking by?

While most people would instinctively say they would help, psychological studies have consistently proved otherwise.

Researches have said one’s inclination not to help can be attributed to the “bystander effect,” in which people are less likely to receive help when more people are around.

Emilio Ulloa, Ph.D., undergraduate adviser in San Diego State’s psychology department, said the bystander effect is the notion that when more people are present, an individual’s assessment of the responsibility to help another is lowered.

“The research seems to suggest that people might assume that other bystanders are more qualified to help,” Ulloa said, “or that they are offering unwanted assistance.”

He said the cues someone gets from observing the reactions of other people may also lead a person to believe assistance isn’t needed.

Psychology professor Thierry Devos, Ph.D., said when there is a crowd of observers, individuals may sometimes feel that it is someone else’s responsibility to take action.

He said the five-step “bystander intervention model,” developed by scientists Bibb Latane and John Darley, accounts for the decision-making process in an emergency situation.

First, one must notice that an unusual event is occurring and then establish that the event warrants help.

If a person does perceive an emergency situation, the third step is to assume the responsibility to help the person. Devos said this is more likely to occur when individuals are alone and they cannot count on someone else to jump in.

Step four involves knowing the appropriate way to assist the person in need and, finally, implementing the decision.

Devos said conflicts can sometimes arise to inhibit a subsequent step from taking place.

Distractions, lack of competence or reluctance to help because of fear are some factors that may interrupt the five-step model, he said.

Ulloa said the chances of someone helping another in need are also lower if assisting that person would require the person helping to exert a significant amount of effort.

“The possibility (of) harm or cost that helping someone would incur to you plays a role as well,” Ulloa said. “If you are very likely to get hurt by helping, the odds that you would intervene decrease dramatically.”

Devos said the action to help is not a reflection of one’s character.

“It’s not about blame,” he said. “The person (who observes an incident) can be a good person, but there is just something about the situation that will lead them not to help.

“Sometimes a situation is so powerful, so they don’t want to intervene.”

Studies show that those with knowledge of the bystander effect and its implications are more likely to help in an emergency.

The bystander effect is accepted in the social psychology field by a majority of psychologists, Devos said.