de-individuation

• P: Rehm found support for Zimbardo's de-individuation concept through an investigation of the effect of increased anonymity on aggressive behaviour in sport

  E: they observed 30 games of handball in german schools. one team in each game wore the same orange shirts, while the other team wore their own different coloured shirts. the researchers found that the uniformed team showed more aggressive acts during the game than the team without uniforms

  L: the results support the claim that de-individuation through increased anonymity leads to more aggressive acts
• P: dramatic support for the deadly influence of de-individuation comes from a study by robert watson

  E: he collected data on the extent to which warriors in 23 societies changed their appearance prior to going to war and the extent to which they killed, tortured or mutilated their victims. those societies where warriors changed their appearance were more destructive toward their victims compared to those who did not change their appearance

  L: the results of this study reveal a significant relationship between de-individuation and aggressive behaviours in warfare
• Deindividuation is reductionist because it focuses heavily on anonymity and group immersion while ignoring other important factors. For instance, not all individuals act aggressively in deindividuated situations—this may be influenced by personality traits, moral reasoning, or biological factors. As a result, the theory oversimplifies complex human behavior.