Collective Displacement Of Responsibility

There is a specific term for this. I can't remember what it is though, and I already tried looking it up but couldn't find it.

An example would be if many people in an apartment building could see from their windows a crime taking place, but didn't call 911, because they figured that one of their neighbors had already called.

 

Diffusion of responsibility.

 

Exemplified, most famously, here:

http://www.nytimes.com/1964/03/27/37-who-saw-murder-didnt-call-the-police.html?_r=0

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_responsibility

Sometimes also referred to as the bystander effect, but I believe the two are slightly different. The bystander effect is a part of diffusion of responsibility.

 

Thank you. For some reason I thought it was called something else, but this is exactly it.

 

I read an interesting psychology article a while back about the bystander effect. It pointed out how people in large crowds are much less likely to take action and help someone in dire need, whereas people in smaller numbers were more likely to assist or call for help.

No safety in numbers.

 

[SIZE=10.5pt]I know this is a completely different but I’m suddenly reminded of a story I read years ago about a guy in Louisville Kentucky who was pulled over for drunk driving but told the cops he technically wasn’t driving because he’s legally blind, so he taught his dog (who was sober) to bark at each traffic light, one for green, two for red. [/SIZE]

[SIZE=10.5pt]The police aware dogs are color-blind hauled his ass off to the drunk tank [/SIZE]



[SIZE=10.5pt]Hotwater[/SIZE]