Deindividuation

Question 1

What are the 4 AO1 points for DEINDIVIDUATION?

Answer 1

1) What is deindividuation
2) Zimbardo
3) Anonymity
4) Prentice-Dunn, Reduced Self Awareness

Question 2

What is deindividuation?

Answer 2

A social psychological concept based largely on Gustav Le Bons crowd theory

Question 3

What is Gustav Le Bon’s crowd theory?

Answer 3

An individual is transformed when part of a crowd

Question 4

Deindividuation is a psychological state…

Answer 4

• Lower self evaluation

- Decreased concerns about evaluation from others

Question 5

Why might a person follow group norms rather than social norms without question?

Answer 5

Combination of anonymity, suggestibility and contagion means a person can lose all self control

Question 6

Zimbardo states that a consequence of being within a crowd is diminished awareness of a persons own individuality…

Answer 6

• Normally social norms discourage antisocial behaviour
• Each person is faceless and anonymous, weakening the metaphorical barrier to antisocial behaviour based on guilt and shame

Question 7

Who was involved in Zimbardo’s study and what were they wearing?

Answer 7

• 4 female undergraduates, half of which were dressed anonymously with loose lab coats, hoods etc, half of which were identifiable with normal clothes and name tags

Question 8

In Zimbardo’s study, what were the female participants required to do?

Answer 8

• Required to deliver electric shocks to aid learning

- Both conditions were able to see the person being shocked

Question 9

What were the findings of Zimbardo’s study?

Answer 9

Those in the deindividuated condition shocked leaners for twice as long

Question 10

What does Zimbardo’s study show? (Proper AO2 point)

Answer 10

-Therefore demonstrates role of deindividuation as participants felt their costumes allowed them to act in a socially-unacceptable manner, thus supporting deindividuation as a socio-psychological explanation of aggression

Question 11

However, it is important to note that Zimbardos study is open to gender bias…

Answer 11

• Participants were female

- Cannot generalise results, limiting such research into deindividuation

Question 12

Anonymity is thought to play a…

Answer 12

significant role in deindividuation and thus an increase in aggression

Question 13

What was Rehm’s hypothesis in relation to anonymity?

Answer 13

• He explored the hypothesis that wearing a uniform as a sports team could increase aggressive acts

Question 14

What was Rehm’s study into anonymity?

Answer 14

• German school children randomly assigned to handball teams of 5, half wearing same orange shirt, half wearing their normal street clothes

Question 15

Why did half wear orange uniforms?

Answer 15

More difficult to distinguish from one another

Question 16

What were the findings of Rehm’s study?

Answer 16

• Orange shirts played handball in a consistently more aggressive manner

Question 17

This provides more evidence supporting the notion of anonymity - leading from deindividuation - does indeed increase aggressive behaviour,

Answer 17

consequently lending support to deindividuation as an explanation of aggressive behaviour

Question 18

Mullen and Mann also found evidence of deindividuated individuals behaving more aggressively..

Answer 18

Mullen - newspaper cuttings of 60 US lynchings finding the more people in the mob, the greater savagery
Mann - used deindividuation concept to explain the baiting crowd, 10 out of 21 suicides involved the presence of a baiting crowd

Question 19

What is a baiting crowd?

Answer 19

A collective behaviour, may be large, some distance away and at night which call out malicious words of encouragement

Question 20

Cross cultural evidence?

Answer 20

Additionally validates the deindividuation theory…

Question 21

Where does some cross cultural evidence come from?

Answer 21

Warriors in 23 societies who changed their appearance prior to war were more destructive

Question 22

What is the proper AO2 for cross cultural evidence?

Answer 22

It would appear, therefore, that the theory of deindividuation as an explanation of aggression can be applied to other, even contrasting cultures, giving credit to the explanation

Question 23

Who gave an alternative perspective to anonymity being a determinant of deindividuation

Answer 23

Prentice-Dunn

Question 24

What does Prentice-Dunn believe?

Answer 24

reduced self awareness that leads to deindividuation rather than anonymity - individual becomes less focused and less self aware

Question 25

What does reduced-self awareness (PD) result in?

Answer 25

Less able to regulate their own behaviour, conflicting with the theory that anonymity leads to aggression

Question 26

However, both theorists maintain..

Answer 26

that deindividuation leads to aggression, but with opposing root causes. Would be difficult to ascertain whether deindividuation was due to anonymity or reduced self awareness, as it is not possible to test objectively for this.

Question 27

When evaluating deindivudation as a psychological theory of aggression it is clear that not all research is in support…which researchers found evidence against?

Answer 27

Johnson and Downing & Postmes and Spears

Question 28

What idea did Johnson and Downing propose?

Answer 28

Rather than deindividuation directly increasing aggression, it may be produced as a result of local group norms

Question 29

What did Johnson and Downing do in their study?

Answer 29

• Modified Zimbardo’s study so one group wore masks and overalls and the other wore nurses uniforms

Question 30

What did Johnson and Downing find?

Answer 30

• Those in masks and overalls shocked more than control condition
• Nurses shocked less than control conditions

Question 31

What do the results of Johnson and Downings study show?

Answer 31

• Participants had responded to normative social cues
• Nurses costumes held connotations of caring, whereas masks and overalls had negative connotations, thus explaining why contrasting behaviours were exhibited

Question 32

What is the the proper AO2 for Johnson and Downings study?

Answer 32

The results of this study demonstrate the importance of local group norms rather than deindividuation, hence goes against deindividuation theory as an explanation of aggression

Question 33

A further lack of support for the deindividuation theory comes from Postmes and Spears,

Answer 33

• disinhibition and antisocial behaviour are not more common in large groups and anonymous settings
• limited evidence to show that deindividuation is associated with reduced self awareness

Question 34

What, overall, is shown by Johnson and Downings study and Postmes and Spears study?

Answer 34

-There is, therefore, mixed evidence for deindividuation as an explanation of aggression, thus limiting it’s credibility

Question 35

Although the focus is generally on undesirable behaviours that result from deindividuation,…

Answer 35

there may also be prosocial consequences, dependent upon situational factors.

Question 36

What did Spivey suggest regarding pro-socialness?

Answer 36

• deindividuation is limited as a sole explanation of aggression as it can be applied to prosocial behaviours
• mental health forums

Question 37

What does the application of deindividuation in prosocial conditions show?

Answer 37

deindividuation theory as an explanation of aggressive behaviour is limited in that it can also lead to prosocial behaviour

Question 38

What is a final limitation of the deindividuation theory?

Answer 38

There are gender differences in aggressive behaviour

Question 39

What did Cannavale and Diener state?

Answer 39

• Males and females respond differently under deindividuation conditions
• Increase in aggression found only in male groups

Question 40

What, overall is suggested by Cannavale and Dieners findings?

Answer 40

• We cannot generalise findings of deindividuation to all groups of society
• Cannot create further hypotheses based on findings as may encourage false stereotypical beliefs about female behaviour

Question 41

What are the 6 AO2 points for this essay?

Answer 41

1) Zimbardo’s gender bias
2) Mullen and Mann
3) Cross cultural evidence
4) Unsupportive research: J&D, P&S
5) Prosocial consequences - Spivey
6) Gender differences in aggressive behaviour