Session 03 - Introduction Theories / Practice VAST

Intro to theory 2; Apply VAST to Bystander effect

1 Overview

Topic Duration Notes
Lecture: What is (not) a theory? (Part 2) 30 Slides, 18-end
Homework wrap-up: VAST displays for “diffusion of responsibility” 45
Lecture: “Applying VAST to an existing theory” 60 Slides
Group formation 10
Workshop: Start formalizing the bystander effect theory 45 See Google Drive
[Homework]: Finalize Bystander VAST in group -

2 Homework wrap-up: VAST displays for “diffusion of responsibility”

  • 3-4 people present their VAST displays that they created as homework.

3 Group formation

  • Create a maximum of 4 groups. These will work together for the bystander formalization.
    • (Note: When their own theories are formalized later in the course, students can form new groups).
  • Each group chooses a group name starting with the letters A, B, C, or D.

4 Workshop (in course, as a group): Formalize the bystander effect theory

  • Each group makes a copy of the template file “Bystander Modell: Construct Source Table Template” that you find on Google Drive. Add your group name/letter to the file name!
  • Go through the steps 3-5 in the slides on “Applying VAST to an existing theory”
    • Step 1 (“Choose your starting point”) is already decided: We use the “A-B Mixture Model”
    • Step 2 (“Limit your scope”) is already decided (see the quotes in the template file).
  • Step 3: Collect robust empirical phenomena: Skim the meta-analysis by Fischer et al. (2011, see homework repository) and make a judgement about the robustness of the bystander effect across the UTOS dimensions. Only do this briefly, you don’t need to be exhaustive here.
  • Step 4 (“Collect definitions of constructs”): Fill in the Construct Source Table
  • Step 5 (“Distill a working definition for each construct, add relationships”): Based on the table, create a VAST display in draw.io. This should contain:
    • Definitions for the relevant constructs (maybe as separat naming relationships)
    • In particular a definition of “diffusion of responsibility” (which we already tried in the last homework - now find a consensus definition as a group)
    • A formalization of the theory (i.e., the generative mechanisms that are supposed to explain the phenomenon).
  • The goal is an easily understandable display: Prioritize understandability over completeness and over a maximally truthful mapping of the original statements.
    • Use as few concepts as possible (but as many as necessary).
    • Why aim for a simple model? Because we want to formalize the model mathematically in a second step, and we need a feasible model for that.
  • Save the .drawio file on the homework repository in the subfolder Bystander_effect. Each group should create a subfolder within that folder, with your team name as folder name.

(Note: You won’t finish all steps in class. You will finalize the tasks as homework.)

5 Homework (as a group): Finalize Bystander VAST

Deliverables:

  • Complete and clean up your Construct Source Table on Google Drive.
  • Upload/commit your draw.io VAST display in the Homework Repository, subfolder Bystander_effect, with your team name as file name.