| Course | SBS 105 Introduction to Psychology |
|---|---|
| Module | Module 8 |
| Paper type | Social psychology application |
| Length | About 1,111 words, 7 pages |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Aspen University |
| Program | Psychology and Addiction Studies |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for SBS 105 Module 8
Seventy People and Seventy Seconds: The Bystander Effect in a Campus Food Hall and How to Shorten the Wait
Student Name
Psychology and Addiction Studies Program, Aspen University
SBS 105: Introduction to Psychology
Instructor Name
Month Day, Year
Seventy People and Seventy Seconds: The Bystander Effect in a Campus Food Hall and How to Shorten the Wait
At 12:20 on a Wednesday, a student carrying a lunch tray through the student union food hall stumbled and collapsed between two rows of tables. About seventy people were within sight. Several looked over and then back at their food. A few took out their phones. Some exchanged glances with friends. After roughly seventy seconds, a nursing student stood up, knelt beside the student, checked for breathing and pointed at a man nearby: "You in the gray hoodie, call campus police now." Within moments, others came to help. The student, who had fainted from low blood sugar, recovered. Afterward, a campus newspaper column asked how so many people could ignore someone in trouble. Social psychology suggests that they were not ignoring the student so much as caught in a predictable set of processes. The incident is invented; the research is real.
Five Steps Before Helping
Latané and Darley proposed that a bystander must pass through a series of steps before helping in an emergency. The bystander must notice the event, interpret it as an emergency, take personal responsibility for acting, decide how to help and finally act. Failure at any step means no help is given. The presence of other people can interfere at several steps. Others' calm faces can lead each person to interpret an ambiguous event as not serious, a process called pluralistic ignorance. And the knowledge that others are present can spread responsibility thin, so that each person feels less obligated to act, a process called diffusion of responsibility.
The Classic Experiment
Darley and Latané (1968) tested diffusion of responsibility in a laboratory study. College students took part in what they believed was a discussion of personal problems held over an intercom, with each participant in a separate room. Some believed they were talking with one other person, others that the group included two or five other people. During the discussion, one participant, actually a recording, began to have what sounded like a seizure and called for help. When participants believed they were the only other person who could hear, most went for help before the recording ended. When they believed four others could also hear, far fewer did, and those who did help took longer. Participants who did not help were not indifferent; many were visibly anxious and uncertain about what to do. The study showed that the mere belief that others were present reduced individual responsibility.
When the Effect Weakens
Later research asked whether the bystander effect holds in all situations. Fischer et al. (2011) conducted a meta-analysis of decades of bystander studies. They confirmed that the presence of bystanders reduced helping overall, but found that the effect was weaker in dangerous emergencies, situations that were clearly serious, and when the perpetrator of a harm was present. They suggested that clearly dangerous situations are recognized as emergencies more quickly, which reduces pluralistic ignorance, and that other bystanders can then become a source of physical support rather than a reason to hold back.
Shared Identity
Levine et al. (2005) examined whether group membership affects helping. In one study, fans of an English soccer club were led to think about their identity as fans of that club and then, walking between buildings, encountered a stranger who fell and appeared hurt. The stranger wore a shirt of their club, a shirt of a rival club or a plain shirt. Participants were much more likely to help the stranger wearing their own club's shirt. In a second study, when participants were led to think of themselves as soccer fans in general, they helped the stranger in either club's shirt more than one in a plain shirt. The research suggested that people help more readily those they see as members of their group, and that how widely a group is defined can be shaped.
Analyzing the Delay
The nursing student broke both barriers. Her training let her interpret the situation as a possible emergency and know what to do, and by pointing at one person and giving him a task, she removed his diffusion of responsibility. Once someone acted, others quickly followed, confirming that the situation was serious.
| Step | What happened in the food hall | Process at work |
|---|---|---|
| Noticing | Many people looked at the fall | Noticing succeeded |
| Interpreting | People looked to others, who seemed calm; some assumed the student had tripped | Pluralistic ignorance |
| Taking responsibility | With seventy people present, each assumed someone else would act | Diffusion of responsibility |
| Knowing how to help | Few knew first aid; some recorded on phones instead | Uncertainty about what to do |
| Acting | A nursing student with training acted and assigned a task | Training and clear roles |
Why Phones Came Out
Several people in the food hall took out their phones, and some may have recorded the scene. This behavior is easy to condemn, but it also fits the research. Recording can feel like doing something while leaving the responsibility to act with others, and it can help a person resolve the uncertainty of the moment by watching what happens next. In a crowd, a phone becomes a way to stay involved without stepping forward. The same phone could have been used to call campus police in seconds, which suggests that campaigns should not simply criticize recording but should redirect the impulse: if your phone is already in your hand, call for help.
Making Helping More Likely
The research suggests several changes a campus could make. First, brief emergency training during orientation could teach students that in an uncertain situation it is better to check than to assume someone else will, and that when asking for help they should address a specific person with a specific task. Second, posting simple steps, check, call, care, near busy spaces like the food hall could reduce uncertainty about what to do. Third, campus messages that build a shared identity, such as presenting students as a community that looks out for its members, may increase helping, following Levine and colleagues' findings. Finally, people who record emergencies on their phones could be reminded that a call to campus police helps more than a video.
Conclusion
The seventy people in the food hall were not uncaring; they were caught at the steps where the presence of others most interferes with helping. Darley and Latané showed how believing others are present spreads responsibility, Fischer and colleagues showed the effect is weaker when danger is clear and Levine and colleagues showed that shared identity encourages help. Understanding these processes turns a troubling story into practical steps that can shorten the wait the next time someone falls.
References
Darley, J. M., & Latané, B. (1968). Bystander intervention in emergencies: Diffusion of responsibility. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 8(4), 377-383. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0025589
Fischer, P., Krueger, J. I., Greitemeyer, T., Vogrincic, C., Kastenmüller, A., Frey, D., Heene, M., Wicher, M., & Kainbacher, M. (2011). The bystander-effect: A meta-analytic review on bystander intervention in dangerous and non-dangerous emergencies. Psychological Bulletin, 137(4), 517-537. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0023304
Levine, M., Prosser, A., Evans, D., & Reicher, S. (2005). Identity and emergency intervention: How social group membership and inclusiveness of group boundaries shape helping behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31(4), 443-453. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167204271651
What the SBS 105 Module 8 instructions ask for
Social psychology closes SBS 105, and the last assignment commonly wants a real situation explained through social psychological research, followed by ideas for changing what people do. Your classroom's Module 8 instructions are the guide; the incident is invented. Describe the situation and the behavior to be explained. Explain the relevant theory step by step. Describe research accurately, including what participants experienced. Analyze the situation with the theory. Suggest changes that follow from the research, listing every study in APA 7 form. Tie each recommendation to the step in the helping process it is meant to fix.
Inside the SBS 105 Module 8 example
At lunchtime, a student carrying a tray collapsed between tables in the student union food hall. Some people glanced over and went back to their food; a few took out phones; after about seventy seconds a nursing student knelt down, checked breathing and told a specific person to call campus police. The paper explains the five steps people pass through before helping: noticing, interpreting, taking responsibility, knowing how to help and deciding to act. Darley and Latané (Journal of Personality and Social Psychology) supply the diffusion of responsibility finding. Fischer and colleagues (Psychological Bulletin) show when the effect weakens. Levine and colleagues (Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin) show the role of shared identity. The analysis locates the delay at interpreting and taking responsibility. Recommendations include training that teaches people to assign tasks to named bystanders and campus messages that build a shared identity.
Where the marks sit in the SBS 105 Module 8 rubric
Social psychology papers earn credit for applying theory step by step to a real situation and for recommendations grounded in evidence. This example uses the decision model of helping to locate exactly where the delay occurred rather than blaming the crowd for apathy. Each study is described with its method, such as the intercom setup in Darley and Latané's experiment, and its result. Fischer and colleagues' meta-analysis adds nuance about when the effect weakens, and Levine and colleagues extend the analysis to group identity. The recommendations target the identified steps, which shows the writer understands the mechanisms. Ending with the nursing student's specific request also gives readers something they can do themselves.
SBS 105 Module 8 help from the desk
Social psychology papers often call bystanders apathetic, which the research does not support. Name the processes that slow helping, such as reading calm faces as a sign that nothing is wrong and assuming someone else will act. Another weakness is describing classic studies vaguely; report what participants heard and how many helped. Avoid treating the bystander effect as inevitable; research shows conditions that reduce it. Connect each part of the theory to a moment in the situation. Finally, recommend changes that address the specific step where helping stalled. If people did not know what to do, training helps; if each assumed someone else would act, assigning tasks to named people helps.
Write yours, or have the desk draft it
This paper is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Aspen University document. Read it for the moves, then write your own to the instructions in your classroom. If you want one built to your exact prompt and rubric, the first custom sample is free and arrives in 24 to 48 hours.
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SBS 105 Module 8 questions, answered
What does SBS 105 Module 8 usually ask for?
Aspen's SBS 105 ends with social psychology, so applying social psychological research to a real situation and proposing changes is typical. Read your Module 8 prompt.
What is the bystander effect?
The finding that people are less likely to help, or slower to help, when they believe other people are also present.
Does the bystander effect always happen?
No. Fischer and colleagues found it weaker in clearly dangerous emergencies, and shared identity can increase helping.
Where can I find a free SBS 105 Module 8 sample paper?
The complete paper above is free: the bystander effect applied to an invented collapse in a crowded campus food hall.
How can I get help in a crowd?
Point to a specific person and give a specific task, such as calling for help, which removes the diffusion of responsibility.