deindividuation

what is deindividuation?

a psychological state in which individuals have lowered levels of self-evaluation e.g., when in a crowd or under the influence of alcohol, and decreased concerns about evaluation from toehrs

who introduced the term deindividuation?

Zimbardo

what is deindividuation theory based on?

Le Bon’s classic crowd theory

what is classic crowd theory?

an individual is transformed when part of a crowd to be part of the collective mind because of the combination of anonymity, suggestibility & contagion

who described deindividuation as a psychological state in which inner restraints are lost?

Festinger et al

what does being in large groups do to individuals?

gives them a cloak of anonymity

what is individuated behaviour?

behaviour that is rational & consistent with personal norms

how does being anonymous lead to deindividuation?

they are not easily identifiable & social norms inhibit antisocial behaviour

what research has there been into deindividuation?

• Stanford Prison Experiment

• Zimbardo’s lab coat study

what did Zhong say about the SPE?

the mirrored sunglasses wore by the guard pps had been found to make people feel greater anonymity

what was Zimbardo’s procedure?

• groups of 4 female undergrads delivered shocks to aid learning

• ½ wore bulky lab coats & masks + never referred to by mame

• ½ wore normal clothes, name tags + were called their names

what did Zimbardo find?

• pps in the deindividuation condition were more likely to press a button they believed would give shocks to victim in another room

• held the shock button down for 2x as long

what are the weaknesses of Zimbardo’s study?

• unrepresentative sample - age + gender

• KKK effect - impacts intensity of shock given

• unethical - deception + protection from harm

what are the strengths of deindividuation theory of aggression?

• research support - Rehm et al - investigated effect of increased anonymity on aggression in sport - observed 30 games of handball - one team in each game wore the same shirts while the other wore their own - uniformed teams were more aggressive - supports anonymity + deindividuation

• RWA - baiting crowd - Mann - 10/21 suicide leaps had baiting - at night + from a distance - anonymous crowd becomes a deindividuated mob

• exists across cultures - Watson - warriors that change their appearance before going to war were more likely to be destructive towards victims - e.g., kill, torture

what are the weaknesses of deindividuation theory of aggression?

• gender differences - Cannavale et al - male & female groups responded differently under deindividuation conditions - increase in aggression only in male groups - Deiner et al found greater disinhibition of aggression in males - tendencies are magnified under deindividuation rather than aggression

• inconclusive support - Postmes & Spears - meta-analysis concluded insufficient support - disinhibition & antisocial behaviour are not more common in large groups or anonymous settings - also could lead to prosocial behaviour - evidence is mixed