De-individuation Flashcards
What is de-individuation?
A psychological state where the individual has lowered self-evaluation and decreased concerns of peer judgement
What is de-individuation based on?
The classic crowd theory
Who proposed the classic crowd theory?
Gustave LeBon
When is de-individuation more likely to occur?
When we are in a big group/crowd
Which psychologist is associated with de-individuation theory?
Philip Zimbardo
What two factors did Zimbardo identify as contributing to de-individuation?
Anonymity and altered state of consciousness
What is lost when an individual becomes de-individuated?
Their sense of identity + inhibitions about violence
What does the loss of individuality in a group lead to when an individual is de-inidividuated?
A ‘collective mind’
What two things does anonymity decrease?
Fear of punishment and judgement
What hypothesis did Zimbardo’s de-individuation study lead to?
That anonymity increases aggression
Who were the participants in Zimbardo’s de-individuation study?
Groups of 4 female students
What were the two conditions of Zimbardo’s de-individuation study?
De-individuated and individuated
What were the distinguishing factors of Zimbardo’s de-individuated condition?
Bulky lab coats, faces covered + nameless
What were the distinguishing factors of Zimbardo’s individuated condition?
Faces were visible, large name tags + introduced themselves
What were Zimbardo’s de-individuation participants asked to do?
Shock another student to ‘aid learning’
What were Zimbardo’s de-individuation findings?
De-individuated individuals shocked students for 2x longer than the individuated individuals
What are the 4 AO3 points for de-individuation theory?
-Inconclusive support (META ANALYSIS)
-Handball research support
-RWA - Baiting crowd
-Contradictory research - dark room
Who conducted a de-individuation study meta-analysis?
Postmes and Spears
How many studies were included in Postmes and Spears meta-analysis?
60
What did Postmes and Spears find?
That disinhibition of aggression and anti-social behaviour were not more common in large + anonymous groups
What did Postmes and Spears suggest de-individuation led to?
Increased responsiveness to situational norms
Who conducted the German school handball study?
Rehm et al
How many games of handball did Rehm et al observe?
30
What were the 2 conditions in Rehm et al’s study?
One team wore the same coloured orange t shirts
The other team wore all different coloured t shirts
What were Rehm et al’s findings?
That individuals in the more anoymous (orange t-shirt) group were more likely to display aggression
Who conducted research into baiting crowds and suicide jumpers?
Mann
How many suicide leaps with crowds did Mann analyse?
21
Out of the 21 suicide jumps that Mann analysed, how many were verbally baited?
10
Why was anonymity of the baiters high in the suicide jumps Mann ananlysed?
They occurred at night
In the analysis of 60 lynchings, what was found?
The bigger the crowd, the more savage the murders
Who were the participants in Gergen’s study?
Groups of 8 strangers
Where did Gergen place his particpants?
In a dark room for one hour
What were the participants in Gergen’s first study told?
That they were allowed to do whatever they wanted + would never meet the strangers again
What were the participants in Gergen’s second study told?
That they were allowed to do whatever they wanted but they would meet the strangers afterwards
What did Gergen find in his first study?
That many of the participants engaged in kissing + touching
What did Gergen find in his second study?
That there was a much lower amount of kissing + touching
