The Diffusion of Responsibility

Within the Path

Prepared and presented by: Mohra Al Zubair
Produced by: Warrant Officer Ward Al Rawahi
Production: ALSUMOOD FM

Download the ALSUMOOD Radio app on Android and iOS, and follow ALSUMOOD FM across our platforms:

X: https://twitter.com/AL_SUMOOD_FM
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/al_sumood_fm
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@alsumoodfm/podcasts
SoundCloud: https://on.soundcloud.com/oc32m
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5cdcDpruk5TUCyDWKzyepj

Contact: info@alsumoodfm.om

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Within the bath. Every bath begins with a vision where ideas and strategies define directions. From the depth of strategic thinking to ever-evolving dynamics of the world. A programme broadcast in English brings insight into the journeys that shape the course of individuals, institutions and nations. Prepared and presented by Muharrab Bint Zubair Az-Zubair and Audio Director, Warrant Officer Warat Bin Salim Ar-Rawhi.

SPEAKER_02 0:56

Assalamu Alaikum, our dear friends. Welcome back to Within the Path. Last episode we spoke about euphemisms, when a milder or more indirect word is used in place of one that is more direct. We reflected on how this appears in everyday life, but also how it carries much greater weight in how events are presented, especially in more serious situations like war. We use the example of the difference between saying someone was killed and saying someone died. And this is something seen in the news. One news outlet may say that people died, while another reports that they were killed. It is the same event, but the wording is different. And while both describe the same outcome, the wording still matters. Saying someone was killed makes clear that the act of killing was carried out upon them, and that there is a responsible side. But saying someone died makes that responsibility less directly visible, even though the reality itself has not changed. So why would one use outlet, use one word and another use something else? In some cases, it may depend on the position they are taking, and at times on who they support and who supports them. Wording can be made more general or less direct, so that the event is still reported, but avoids clearly assigning responsibility. This is where euphemisms become clear. And this is where language connects directly to responsibility. And this brings us to today's topic, which is the diffusion of responsibility. The diffusion of responsibility is a psychological phenomenon. It refers to situations where responsibility is spread across a number of people. So that each individual feels less personally responsible to act. In fact, the more people are present, the less responsibility each person tends to feel. Take a situation where someone falls in public. When a person is alone, the response is often immediate. There is no pause and action follows. But when others are present, that changes. There may be a brief hesitation, people become aware of what has happened, and there's also a moment of looking around, of waiting. In that moment, responsibility no longer feels fully personal. It feels shared. And this is often referred to as the bystander effect. And it tends to unfold in stages. First, the situation is noticed. Second, there is a moment of looking to others for cues on how to respond. And third, there is an assumption that someone else will step in. By that point, the sense of personal responsibility has already begun to fade. This does not come from a lack of concern, nor does it mean that people don't care. Rather, it is the presence of others that changes how responsibility is experienced. When many people are present, responsibility feels less direct. And the urgency that would exist when one is alone or in isolation becomes less immediate. For example, in everyday situations, like in group settings, when something needs to be addressed, but each person assumes someone else will raise it. When a correction is needed, yet everyone remains silent. When something feels off, but no one speaks. In these situations, responsibility becomes shared in a way that makes it feel less personal. Our dear friends, stay tuned, and we'll be back right after this break. Our dear friends, welcome back. As we were saying before the break, diffusion of responsibility is found in everyday situations. And it can also take shape in larger systems and more serious situations, which connects back to what we spoke about earlier on moral disengagement. Because when responsibility becomes spread out in this way, especially in systems where questionable acts are repeated and begin to feel normal, the sense of responsibility for those actions can begin to fade. Not because people are unaware, but because responsibility no longer feels clearly theirs to carry. At times, not stepping forward, whether in speaking up or acting, can come from different reasons. There may be a sense that others are more qualified to speak. And there can also be hesitation or fear, because speaking up may carry consequences, especially when it means challenging what is already in place. This becomes clearer in situations of conflict and war. For example, when a side abandons the ethics of warfare and turns to violence even against civilians, this may be permitted within that system. It may be justified, explained, or even normalized, sometimes in the name of a higher or moral cause, as we have seen in the mechanisms of moral disengagement. And within that context, individuals may carry out these actions because the system itself allows it. It has been made acceptable. And yet, within a system as such, it is possible that someone may feel that something is not right. That what is happening does not sit well. But speaking up in that environment is not always an easy thing to do. Because it does not only mean questioning the act, it also means questioning the whole system around it. And that carries consequences. Because the moment of questioning can become a moment of realization that has the potential to change an entire system. So responsibility becomes diffused. Each person may feel that it lies elsewhere, in the order, at the structure, or at a higher level. And even when something feels wrong, it may remain unspoken. But that feeling, that sense that something is not right, matters. Because it means that the moral compass is still there. And if there is something to take from all this, it is this. The presence of others should never lead us to overlook our own sense of responsibility. Thank you for being with me. Until next time, this is Mohra Az Zubayr from within the path.

SPEAKER_00 9:23

Within the bath. Every bath begins with a vision where ideas and strategies define directions. From the depth of strategic thinking to ever-evolving dynamics of the world.