? Heuristic of the Day: Diffusion of Responsibility

Now imagine a more serious issue – you’re walking down the street and see a terrible car crash. You think you should call the police, but you assume that someone else will or already has so you refrain. Meanwhile, everyone around you is thinking the same thing. In this case, Diffusion of Responsibility can have life-threatening consequences.

When groups grow larger and larger, individual responsibility tends to shrink smaller and smaller. This tendency to take on less personal responsibility – and often more risk – as the number of people in a group increases is called Diffusion of Responsibility. This most often occurs in groups larger than 3 where responsibility is not explicitly assigned and increases as group size grows.?

Diffusion of Responsibility can be detrimental to group decision-making. It can allow negative, immoral, and possibly harmful consequences to occur.

To hack Diffusion of Responsibility, you need to be real with yourself and face facts. We can all make a difference if we step up and take on the challenge to be a positive contribution in the world. Instead of shirking away from duty, embrace it and improve the quality of your workplace, home, or greater society.

Read more about Diffusion of Responsibility at the Heuristics Science Insitute.

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