de-individuation

Subdecks (1)

Cards (17)

  • define de-individuation?
    • process whereby people lose their sense of individuality & identity & engage in socialised aggressive behaviour
  • when does de-individuation occur?
    • when individual feels less identifiable
    • hidden by uniform/large group
    • behaviour is less inhibited - more likely to be aggressive
  • le bon 1895?
    • highlighted that when part of large anonymous crowd individuals more likely to behave in antisocial & aggressive manner
  • anonymity?
    • more anonymous crowd is the greater threat of extreme action - collective mindset takes over
    • crowd acts as one - person becomes submerged into crowd & loses self control
    • fail to see consequences of their actions & social norms they would usually follow are forgotten
  • prentice dunn 1982?
    • distinguished between 2 types of self awareness
    • de-individuation leads to change in these types of self awareness which he believes can then lead to aggressive behaviour
  • 2 types of self awareness?
    1. public self awareness
    2. private self awareness
  • public self awareness?
    • in normal circumstances people are concerned about impression they will create in others
  • private self awareness?
    • relates to individuals own thoughts,feelings,values & morals
    • your own internal standards make you who you are
  • 3 * of de-individuation?
    1. evidence from zimbardo - stanford prison
    2. evidence from zimbardo - milgram variation
    3. practical application
  • X evidence to contradict from gergen 1973?
    • group of 8 p who were complete strangers
    • placed in room with each other for 1 hour & told to do whatever they liked with no rules & no one will stop them
    • no way to be identified & assured they would never encounter each other again
    • found they were not aggressive
    • instead started to touch & kiss each other
    • may lead to sexual behaviour rather than aggressive
    • if explanation was accurate they would have displayed aggressive rather than affectionate behaviour towards each other
  • * evidence from zimbardo - prison?
    • guards lost sense of public self awareness - hidden behind aviators & uniform - became deindividuated & free from consequences
    • prisoners lost sense of private self awareness - referred to as numbers only - more likely to behave as prisoners than their selves hence becoming aggressive
    • shows that anonymity causes group to become more aggressive than they would have been individually due to loss of public & private self awareness
  • * evidence from zimbardo - milgrams?
    • replicated milgrams electric shock study
    • G1 - not deindividuated - introduced to learner,wore own clothes,wore name badges,completed test in close proximity to learner
    • G2 - deindividuated - not introducted,wore long cloaks & hoods,no name badges,completed test away from learner
    • deindividuated group shocked learner for twice as long as did identifiable group
    • shows when p are anonymous they are more likely to display aggressive behaviour
  • * practical application?
    • if we know that loss of public self awareness leads to increase in aggressive behaviour then steps can be taken to reduce feeling of anonymity & so reduce aggression
    • eg police use this by mounting CCTV cameras in areas where aggression occurs - football hooliganism
    • often accompanied by signs alerting people to fact that theyre being filmed to try & reduce aggression before it starts
    • means that we can reduce aggression in society
    • so less strain on criminal justice system to spend money on this & can be put back into other areas of economy