The Failure of Witnesses to Help Kitty Genovese When She

The failure of witnesses to help Kitty Genovese when she was viciously attacked may have been due to the tendency to believe that others would act and so they wouldn't need to. This explanation is based on the principle of _________.

A) perceived cost.
B) situational ambiguity.
C) diffusion of responsibility.
D) attributions of the cause of need.
E) self-interest.