... and offer help when they were with other people than when they were alone. Interviews conducted with participants after the experiments discussed above indicated that one reason for people's failure to help was social influence. Many participants indicated that they had looked at, and tended to follow, the actions of others. Since these others were trying and evidently succeeding to appear calm, participants defined the situation as 'safe'. Thus, each participant influenced others into thinking there was no cause for alarm. Another reason for failing to help is the potential embarrassment of incorrectly defining a situation. One person snatching money from another might be a potential 'mugging', but it may also be the result of a harmless bet between two friends. The fear of making a social blunder, and being subject to ridicule if a situation is ambiguous, also deters people from helping (Pennington et al, 1999). Interestingly, Latane & Rodin (1969) found ...

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