Bystander Effect: The Individual and Those Who Acted Altruistically The bystander affect is a well-known social behavior event where individuals within a group do not offer any help to a victim when other people are in that group. In this paper, I will examine not only the individual bystanders, but also the individuals who were not bystanders in the 1930’s and what compelled them to resist the status quo of the time. To speak on the bystander’s effect, we must know what that is. Psychology today