Deindivduation Flashcards
What is de-individuation?
The loss of self-awareness, identity and of individual accountability when part of a relatively anonymous group, consequently leading to aggressive behavior.
What does Gustav Le Bon say?
- An individual is transformed when apart of a crowd
- The anonymity, suggestibility and contagion mean that a ‘collective mind’ takes possession of the individual
- As a consequence the individual loses self control and acts in a way that goes against personal social norms.
What happens when the individual disregards societal norms?
internal inhibitions are weakened
What emotions does the individual lack?
guilt, fear and shame
How do people in a crowd act?
impulsive, irrational, emotional and antisocial
Where is attention focused when in a state of de-individuation?
attention focused outward
Describe the Halloween study by Diener et al (1976)
- confederate presented bowl of candy to trick or treaters
- IV were if kids came in group or alone and if they were forced to make the identity visible
- When came to door, confederate leaves momentarily and tell kids to take 1 piece of candy
- another experimenter observed how many children took more than one piece of candy
What does Zimbardo’s research on de-individuation suggest?
That anonymity (key component of de-individuation) increases aggression
Describe Zimbardo’s study (procedure)
- 4 female undergraduates
- required to deliver electric shocks to another student to aid learning
- Half ppts wore bulky lab coats and hoods hid their faces
- Sat in separate cubicles
- Other ppts given large name tags + introduced to each other by names
- Also able to see each other when seated at shock seat
What were the findings of Zimbardo’s study?
- ppts in de-individuation condition were more likely to press a button that they believed would give shock to a ‘victim’ in another room
- They held the shock button for twice as long as did the identifiable ppts
What factors increase the feeling of anonymity?
- altered state (alcohol/drugs)
- uniform
What does anonymity diminish?
diminishes own awareness of own individuality
As own individuality is diminished, how does the individual feel?
unaccountable
When we are easily identifiable what happens?
- own knowledge of societal norms prevent uncivilised behaviour
A03 Explain research in support of gender differences in de-individuation
- Cannavale et al found that male and females respond different under de-individuation conditions
- Increased aggression in all-male group
- Not in all-female groups
- Was also found by Diener et al who found greater disinhibition of aggression (i.e. removal of the normal inhibition that prevents aggression) in de-individualised males than de-in females
- One possible reason for these gender differences is that males tend to respond to provocation in more extreme ways than females and these tendencies are magnified under de-individuation conditions (Eagly 2013)
A03 How has research into de-individuation been applied to the real world?
- Mann used de-individuation to explain bizarre aspect of collective behaviour - the ‘baiting crowd’ and suicide jumpers.
- Mann analysed 21 suicide leaps reported in newspapers (USA) in the 1960’s 1970’s.
- 10 out of 21 where crowd watched, baiting occurred
- These incidents occurred at night, large crowd and some distance from the jumper
- (particularly when the jumper was above them)
- All these states produce de-ind
- power of baiting crowd also evident in analysis of 60 lynchings in US between 1899-1946 (Mullen)
- More people = more savagery
- Two studies lend support to notion of anonymous crowd as a de-ind ‘mob’
A03 Is de-individuation a universal behaviour?
- Dramatic support for the deadly influence of de-ind comes from study by anthropologist Robert Waston.
- Collected data on which warriors in 23 societies changed their appearance prior going to war
- and the extent to which they killed, tutored or mutilated their victims
- societies where warriors changed their appearance (paint, costumes) were more destructive compared to those who didnt
- Result of this study reveal significant relationship between de-ind and aggressive behaviour in warfare
