deindividuation Flashcards
1
Q
deindividuation
A
- defined as a psychological state in which an individual loses their personal identity + takes on the identity of a social group
- e.g. in a crowd
2
Q
crowd behaviour + anonymity
A
- we lose restraint + self awareness
- have the freedom to behave in ways we wouldn’t otherwise
- lose out sense of individual self-identity
- responsibility for our behaaiour becomes shared throughout the crowd
= experience less personal guilt about harmful aggression - the bigger the crowd, the more anonymous we are
- small + unidentifiable part of a faceless crowd
3
Q
difference between individuated + deindividuated behaviour
A
- Zimbardo
- individuated = rational, normaltive
- deindividuated = emoitonal, impulsive, irrational, anti-normative
4
Q
private self-awareness
A
- concerns how we pay attention to our own feelings + behaviour
- reduced when we’re part of a crowd
- less self-critical + less thoughtful
5
Q
public self-awareness
A
- refers to how much we care about what other people think of our behaviour
- reduced in a crowd
- anonymous + behaviour is less likely to be judged by others
- become less accountable + don’t care what others think
6
Q
research on de-individuation
A
- Dodd developed a technique to demonstrate deindividuation
- asked 229 undergrad students if they could do anything humanly possible w/ complete assurance that they wouldn’t be caught, what would they do?
- 3 independent raters rated responses
- 36% responses = antisocial
- 26% responses = criminal
= demonstrates the connection between deindividuation as a result of anonymity –> aggression
7
Q
strengths of deindividuation
A
- halloween
- disguise
8
Q
weaknesses of deindividuation
A
- football vs cricket
- group norms
9
Q
halloween - strengths of deindividuation
A
- many studies support it
- psych conducted a natural experiment examining the effects of deindividuation on aggression
- on Halloween night
- concealed rates observed 1300 child trick or treaters
- under 4 different conditions:
- anonymity
- non-anonymity
- alone
- in a group
- children given the opportunity to steal sweets + money
= children who were in a group or anonymous = stole 57%
= compared to non-anonymous = 21%
= research demonstrates that when in a group + anonymous, children more likely to behave in a socially deviant way
= supports deindividuation
10
Q
disguise - strengths of deindividuation
A
- two psychs conducted a lab experiment
- 3 conditions:
- female parts dressed in a Ku Klux Klan-type outfit = masked faces entirely)
- dressed as nurses
- dressed in normal clothes
- parts had to give fake electric shocks to a confederate
- parts in Ku Klux Klan-type outfits gave much higher levels of shocks to confederates than any other group
- research demonstrates that when disguised + identity hidden
= more likely to be aggressive in being part of a gang
11
Q
football vs cricket - weaknesses of deindividuation
A
- it is difficult to separate the effects of deindividuation from other explanations of aggression e.g. social learning theory
- some sporting events e.g. football = attracts huge crowds + long history of violence + aggression on and off pitch
- yet rugby + cricket also attract huge crowds but haven’t experienced the same problems w/ antisocial behaviour
- suggest that cultural factors internalised through social learning is a better explanation
12
Q
group norms - weaknesses of deindividuation
A
- deindividuated behaviour is normative rather than anti-normative
- theory argues that we behave against social norms when we are less aware of our private identity
- HOWEVER Social Identity Model of De-individuation (SIDE model)
- argues that deindividuation leads to behaviour that conforms to group norms
- happens cus anonymity shifts an indiviudal’s attention from their private identity to social identity
- suggests they remain sensitive to norms rather than ignore them
