Ricardo watches a scene in the street on his way home from work. An older woman is about to be hit by a car because she has fallen over into the street and can't get back up again. She sees a man walking on the sidewalk nearby and yells to him for help. The man quickly helps her out of the way and she avoids the danger. Afterwards the older woman tries to thank the man, but he shrugs his shoulders and wanders off. Ricardo has the impression-although he can't be sure-that if the woman hadn't cried for help, the man wouldn't have done anything. Research suggests that when Ricardo retells this story to another person, the other person will:

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This is based on the bystander effect, which suggests that individuals are less likely to help in emergency situations when other people are present. However, when someone does help, observers tend to have a more positive impression of the helper because they were the only person who acted. Therefore, the other person listening to Ricardo's story is likely to have a more positive impression of the man than Ricardo did.

Ricardo Watches a Scene in the Street on His Way