The victim of a road accident sometimes does not get help because even though many people are standing around the scene of the accident, each one thinks the other will help. This phenomenon is called ___________.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → Diffusion of responsibility
Option (1) Equity — Incorrect. The norm of equity says we should help others whenever we find it fair to do so, for example a person who has lost everything in a flood. It is a reason to help, not a reason why help fails to come.
Option (2) Reciprocity — Incorrect. The norm of reciprocity says we should help those persons who have helped us in the past. Nothing in the accident scene turns on past help.
Option (3) Diffusion of responsibility — Correct. Pro-social behaviour may be reduced when the number of bystanders is more than one. The victim of a road accident sometimes does not get help because many people are standing around; each thinks it is not her/his responsibility alone and that someone else may take it. If there is only one bystander, that person is more likely to help.
Option (4) Empathy — Incorrect. Empathy is the capacity to feel the distress of the person who is to be helped, and it makes helping more likely, not less.
Note: Diffusion of responsibility, one of the factors affecting pro-social behaviour, was there in the chapter ‘Attitude and Social Cognition’ of the pre-rationalised NCERT, which NTA followed in 2023, and is not there in the NCERT book (2025-26). Hence this question has been picked from the pre-rationalised NCERT.
NCERT (Pre-rationalised): “Factors Affecting Pro-social Behaviour … Three norms have been mentioned in the context of pro-social behaviour : (a) The norm of social responsibility : We should help anyone who needs help, without considering any other factor. (b) The norm of reciprocity : We should help those persons who have helped us in the past. (c) The norm of equity : We should help others whenever we find that it is fair to do so. For example, many of us may feel that it is more fair to help a person who has lost all belongings in a flood, than to help a person who has lost everything through gambling.…” “Factors Affecting Pro-social Behaviour … Pro-social behaviour is more likely to be shown by individuals who have a high level of empathy, that is, the capacity to feel the distress of the person who is to be helped, such as Baba Saheb Amte and Mother Teresa. Pro-social behaviour is also more likely in situations that arouse empathy, such as the picture of starving children in a famine.…” “Factors Affecting Pro-social Behaviour … Pro-social behaviour may also be reduced when the number of bystanders is more than one. For example, the victim of a road accident sometimes does not get help because there are many people standing around the scene of the accident. Each person thinks that it is not her/his responsibility alone to give help, and that someone else may take the responsibility. This phenomenon is called diffusion of responsibility. On the other hand, if there is only one bystander, this person is more likely to take the responsibility and actually help the victim.…” |