de-individuation explanation

• De-Individuation

  psychological state which individual losses their personal identity and takes on group identity e.g in a crowd

  result to free the individual from social norms and they Amy adopt the group morals
• crowd behaviour

  when apart of a crowd, we loose restraint and have freedom to behave

  lose sense of individual self-identity

  lose sense of responsibility for our behaviour

  greater disregard for norms and even laws

  responsibility assumed to be shared amongst group

  less personal guilt
• de-individuated behaviour

  emotional, impulsive and irrational

  anti-normative

  lose self-awareness

  ignore social norms

  live for the moment
• things that increase likelihood

  darkness

  drugs and alcohol

  uniforms, masks, disguises
• anonymity shapes crowd behaviour

  less fear because small unidentifiable part of a large faceless crowd
• private self-awareness

  concerns how we pay attention to own feelings

  reduced when apart of a crowd attention becomes focused outwardly

  less attention to own beliefs and feelings

  less self-critical, less thoughtful
• public self-awareness

  how much we care about what others think

  reduced in crowds

  we are anonymous- behaviour less likely to be judged

  no longer care as we become less accountable in a crowd
• support

  Dodd- 229 psych students what would they do if no-one know it was them

  36% anti-social behaviour

  26% criminal acts

  only 9% positive behaviours

  real life application- CCTV cameras- not lost in a crowd, streets being well-lit
• weakness

  limited- doesn't explain domestic violence and has narrow application only occurs in a crowd