Whose fault was it? Was it the fault of the manufacturer of the lift for not providing sufficiently conspicuous warning signs on the lift? Was it the fault of the athletic director who was standing some 30 yards away? Was it the head coach's fault for not holding practice inside as he had done the previous day? Was it Declan's own fault for not trusting his instincts when he texted a friend about his feeling terrified on the lift less than an hour before his fall? Notre Dame is currently conducting an investigation.

No doubt there will be countless lawyers trying to place blame. But this is a situation where psychologists are needed. What I offer next is an account of how and why this could have happened based on an understanding of years of social psychological research on similar situations.

First, the danger level of the situation was ambiguous to anyone who could have done something to help. Even though it was windy, and it seems like "common sense" would lead people to think Declan should get down, nobody expected the lift to actually fall.

Second, there was a diffusion of responsibility. With multiple leaders on the field--and with so many people around, period--there was less of a chance of any one of them stepping in to help. Researchers named Bibb Latane and John Darley discovered years ago that when 14 or more people are around in an ambiguously dangerous situation, a victim is far less likely to receive help than when only one or two bystanders are there [1, 2]. To illustrate, imagine if you were on the scene. Would you have yelled up to Declan, "Hey, get down! It's too dangerous"? No you wouldn't have. And that's because you would have assumed that if there really was great danger, then other people would have already done something about it. At the very least, you would have thought that the cameraman himself would know more about the dangers than you.

Third, there was a need to conform to the demands of authority. We do know from his text messages that Declan was terrified to be on that lift. Perhaps he knew better than anyone of the actual danger that he was in. However, the athletic director and head coach were in his field of vision. He likely felt compelled to fulfill the duties of his position despite his fears. It seems that the combined uncertainty about whether the lift would actually topple and the commitment to his duties kept him in harm's way.

The bottom line to my message is that both no one and everyone is to blame for what happened to this beloved light named Declan Sullivan. These forces of social relations and their accompanying pressures came together in a horrific way to cost him his life.

The hope is that someone else's life might be saved in the future because of what we have learned from this terrible event. We can decide in advance that whenever we find ourselves in an ambiguously dangerous situation, we are going to help. We can commit ourselves to shrugging off the fears of violating rules of conformity, and think and act for ourselves. For instance, if you see a couple arguing and the woman is screaming, you can yell to her from a safe distance, "Hey, do you want me to call the police?!" Or if a stranger crosses the street toward you as you are walking alone at night, you can start running! Who cares if you look silly?! Or if you see a small child on a parent's lap in the front seat of a car, you can say, "Hi there, is your airbag disabled? You know your kid could die with a fender-bender, right?!" And if they don't cooperate, you can ramp up the pressure by saying, "I am going to call the police if you don't put your child in the backseat right now."

The key is to commit to helping in advance. Part of this commitment involves being aware that it is extremely hard to overcome these pressures to conform, particularly when the danger to ourselves or others is ambiguous.

I am very, very sorry that we lost Declan. I offer my deepest condolences to his family in this time of great sorrow for them.

References

1. Darley, J. M., & Latane, B.(1968). When will people help in a crisis? Psychology Today, 2, 54-57, 70-71.

2. Latane, B. (1981.) The psychology of social impact. American Psychologist, 36, 343-356.