Aggression

• What is de-individuation?


  Is the feeling of anonymity gained from being in a large crowd, wearing a uniform, wearing a mask etc
• LeBon (1895) said the combination of anonymity, suggestibility and contagion in a crowd means that a collective mind takes possession of the individual. Loss of self control goes against personal or social norms.
• Zimbardo (1969) said being apart of a large group gives people a 'cloak of anonymity' that diminished and personal consequences for their action
• Loss of Self identity 


  .Very important for deindividuation

  . Any action taken by one individual of a group is attributed to the group as a whole

  .This results in a diffusion of personal responsibility, leading to higher levels of aggression and anti-social behaviour
• Research on de-individuation

  Stanford prison study- Zimbardo et al found that participants who played the role of guards ( and therefore in a de-individuated state) acted aggressively towards the prisoners. Prisoners were not aggressive but were anonymous
• The Process of de-individuation 


  1.Anonymity= Don't act aggressively if we are identifiable

  2.Decrease accountability = Being deindividuated makes us feel less identifiable and so we don't have to show the same restraint we usually would

  3. Decrease fear of negative evaluation= Less fear of negative evaluation and repercussions

  4.Lowered inhibitions= less guilt (if in a crowd) as the other are showing the same aggressive behaviours

  5. Aggression
• Evaluation of De-individuation

  .A strength is that deindividuation has had real world application. It has helped to make sure individuals in public service are identifiable. For examples police are now are equipped with body cams and personal identification numbers on their uniform. Reduced the anonymity from wearing a uniform. As a result, may prevent aggression due to deindividuation . This explanation has high ecological validity.
• Evaluation of de-individuation 


  .A limitation is that there are many real life examples of deindividuation in which aggression didn't occur. For example, large religious gatherings and children wearing school uniform. This may be due to the effect of social cues. Deindividuation only leads to aggression when anti-social cues are present. Therefore deindividuation results to aggression only when there is a cue to do so. This explanation can not be applied to everyone, lacks generalisability.
• Evaluation of deindividuation 


  A limitation is that there is also research support that deindividuation doesn't result to aggression. Gergen et al put 8 strangers into a pitch black room for one hour. Many kissed and touched each other intimately. This shows that deindividuation does not always lead to aggression. This explanation is reductionist.
• Evaluation for De-individuation

  A Strength is Rehm et al (1987) study supports Zimbardo's de-individuation. 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 colour shirt. Found that uniformed teams showed significantly more aggressive acts than the teams that didn't wear uniform.
• A03 of de-individuation: What does Rehm et al study mean? 


  The results support the claim that de-individuation through increased anonymity leads to more aggressive acts. Therefore this explanation has high validity.
• Neural influences

  Limbic system= A system of structures lying beneath the cortex, including the amygdala, hippocampus and hypothalamus. The region is associated with emotional behaviour.

  Amygdala= Responsible in evaluating emotional importance of sensory information and prompting an appropriate response. Overactive cause aggressive response.
• Neural influences 


  Hippocampus= Involved with formation of long term memories allowing us to compare the conditions of a current threat with similar past experiences. Impaired functioning means it can't put things in an appropriate context, causes amygdala to react inappropriate aggression

  Serotonin= Inhibiting amygdala activity which lowers levels, reducing self control and leading to an increase in impulsive behaviour and aggression
• Hormonal influences 


  Testosterone= Male sex hormone. Thought to influence aggression from young adulthood onward due to its action on brain areas involved in controlling aggression