Page "Bystander effect" Paragraph 17

Based on general altruism research which suggests that helping behaviour is more likely where there is similarity between the helper and the person being helped, recent research has considered the role of similarity, and more specifically, shared group membership, in encouraging bystander intervention.

In a 2005 experiment, researchers found that passers-by were more likely to help an apparently injured person if that person was wearing a football jersey which supported the same team as them than an opposing team.

However, when their shared identity as football fans was made salient instead, supporters of both teams were likely to be helped, significantly more so than a person wearing a plain shirt.