Social Influence - Crowd & Collective Behaviour (deindividuation)

Question 1

Explain crowd and collective behaviour

Answer 1

Le Bon suggested that being in a crowd creates anonymity, leading to antisocial behaviour.
Behaviour is ruled by social norms so when we can’t be identified we lose our sense of responsibility and behave irrationally and aggressively.

Question 2

Evaluate deindividuation (not always antisocial)

Answer 2

One weakness is that deindividuation doesn’t always lead to antisocial behaviour.
Johnson and Downing found that participants dressed as a nurse gave fewer and milder shocks than those dressed in a KKK outfit but more shocks than those in their own clothes.
This shows people take on group norms.

Question 3

Evaluate deindividuation (real-world application)

Answer 3

One strength is that understanding deindividuation can be used to manage crowds.
At sporting fixtures crowd control can be achieved through using video cameras so people are more self-aware.
This can then reduce aggressive behaviour of the crowd.

Question 4

Evaluate deindividuation (crowding)

Answer 4

One weakness is that antisocial behaviour may be due to crowding rather than collective behaviour.
When animals are packed together they feel stressed and act aggressively (Freedman).
So it may be overcrowding that creates antisocial behaviour as well as deindividuation.