The Bystander Impact

Have you ever heard of the bystander effect? Simply put, as more people are present there is a lower likelihood that someone in the group will actually help a person in distress. It has to do with a sense of accountability or ownership in a situation. It is thus easy to shift the responsibility to get involved to "someone else" when there are other people present. You may be thinking like me that I would definitely help someone if there was a cry for help. Studies suggest that you may not be as ready to break from the group and stand up to help out. What if, however, we could leverage the positive power from a group. Instead of shifting responsibility we felt strength in the group and voiced our concern. Wow, what a difference that could make! Perhaps we can change the phenomenon from the bystander effect to the bystander impact... how a bystander can make an impact and how a group can be a positive force for change.