AP PSYCHOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Diffusion of responsibility refers to the fact that as the number of bystanders increases, the personal responsibility that an individual bystander feels decreases. As a consequence, so does his or her tendency to help.

Detailed explanation-2: -Social loafing describes the tendency of group members to exert less effort than they can or should because of the reduced sense of accountability (think of how many people don’t bother to vote, figuring that someone else will do it.)

Detailed explanation-3: -Diffusion of responsibility occurs when people who need to make a decision wait for someone else to act instead. The more people involved, the more likely it is that each person will do nothing, believing someone else from the group will probably respond.

Detailed explanation-4: -An example of diffusion of responsibility in the workplace is witnessing racist, sexist, or otherwise inappropriate behavior coming from one employee toward another and not reporting it because you believe it’s not your place to speak up.

Detailed explanation-5: -Deindividuation leads to diffused responsibility by removing individual discretion. Concern for – or the ability to discern – right from wrong evaporates. Diffused responsibility is thus one expression of the disintegration of humanity, because personal accountability and social standards are also moral imperatives.