Editing Diffusion of responsibility (section)

== Real-world examples ==
In many real-world examples, it can be difficult to say with complete certainty that certain events happened or happen because of a [[Social psychology|sociopsychological]] effect such as diffusion of responsibility, the reasons being that in these events, there are many other contributing factors. Many of these events have also been traumatizing for the individuals who have recounted them. In situations which have known to increase anxiety, events have been found to be interpreted more dangerously or inaccurately than they appear.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Constansab|first=Joseph|year=1999|title=Interpretive Biases for Ambiguous Stimuli in Social Anxiety|journal=Behaviour Research and Therapy|volume=37|issue=7|pages=643–651|doi=10.1016/S0005-7967(98)00180-6|pmid=10402689}}</ref> While accurate representation of events may be questionable, there have been extensive analyses on the following events regarding diffusion of responsibility and applications of its concept.

===World War II===
The diffusion of responsibility for alleged war crimes during [[World War II]] was famously used as a legal defense by many of the [[Nazi Party|Nazis]] being tried at [[Nuremberg Trials|Nuremberg]]. A similar defense was mounted by the defendants accused in the [[My Lai massacre]]. Because of the displacement of responsibility, they did not feel the personal responsibility to help or at least not harm victims, but they felt like they were [[just following orders]], and they did not feel responsible or guilty for their own actions. They blamed those telling them to carry out the orders rather than blaming themselves for the atrocities they had committed. The diffusion of responsibility is a probable cause for many of their feelings and actions, but other possible contributing factors include the existing [[antisemitism]] of Germany at that time and the threats imposed by Nazi officials.<ref>Henry, Stuart. Recent Developments in Criminological Theory: Toward Disciplinary Diversity and Theoretical Integration. Routledge, 2017.</ref>

===Workplace===
Diffusion of responsibility can be seen in the workplace through the response to [[mass email]] when compared to many, individualized emails. When mass emails are sent out, people feel a lack of accountability because the emails have not been addressed to them personally. Studies have shown that replies to personally addressed emails are more helpful and lengthier than replies to mass emails because personal interactions are associated with a greater sense of responsibility.<ref name="Barron Yechiam 2002">{{cite journal |last1=Barron |first1=Greg |last2=Yechiam |first2=Eldad |title=Private e-mail requests and the diffusion of responsibility |journal=Computers in Human Behavior |date=September 2002 |volume=18 |issue=5 |pages=507–520 |doi=10.1016/S0747-5632(02)00007-9 }}</ref> For example, the author of <ref>{{cite book |last=Altin |first=Simon Peter |author-link= |date=2024 |title=Paleothinking: Going Back in Time to Understand Human Nature |url= |location= |publisher=KDP |page=67 |isbn=979-8875858369}}</ref> reports sending thousands of emails to professors at universities worldwide, inviting them to recommend a journal to their students. The response rate has been extremely low, especially when using [[Blind carbon copy|blind carbon copy (bcc)]] to reach multiple recipients simultaneously.

Another example of diffusion of responsibility revolves around whistleblowing in the work place. Many people employed by companies that regularly committed accounting fraud do not blow the whistle. This is due to lack of individual accountability and moral disengagement. It has been shown that many people often get so focused on their individual tasks, they forget to think about moral responsibilities in an organization. Thus whistleblowing may not even be considered. Moreover, in companies where it is promoted, people still do not participate since they assume others will take the responsibility, causing feelings similar to a lack of accountability.<ref name="Thomson L">Thompson, Leigh (2011). Making the team. Chapter 2 Performance and Productivity: Team Performance Criteria and Threats to Productivity</ref><ref name="Barron Yechiam 2002"/>

===Self-driving cars===

[[Autonomous car]]s require a human driver to be attentive at all times, and intervene if necessary. One safety concern is that humans are less likely to maintain attention if the automated system has partial responsibility for driving.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Mitchell |first1=Russ |title=Analysis: Tesla crash highlights a problem: When cars are partly self-driving, humans don't feel responsible |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/autos/la-fi-hy-tesla-autopilot-20180125-story.html |work=Los Angeles Times |date=25 January 2018 }}</ref>