Personal distress and the influence of bystanders on responding to an emergency.

ABSTRACT: Spontaneous helping behavior during an emergency is influenced by the personality of the onlooker and by social situational factors such as the presence of bystanders. Here, we sought to determine the influences of sympathy, an other-oriented response, and personal distress, a self-oriented response, on the effect of bystanders during an emergency. In four experiments, we investigated whether trait levels of sympathy and personal distress predicted responses to an emergency in the presence of bystanders by using behavioral measures and single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation. Sympathy and personal distress were expected to be associated with faster responses to an emergency without bystanders present, but only personal distress would predict slower responses to an emergency with bys

SUBMITTER: Hortensius R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4949296 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature