de-individuation - social psychological

• de individuation

  a psychological state in which an individual loses their personal identity and takes on the identity the social group - occurs as a result of being in a large group or crowd wearing a uniform
• effect of de-indivualisation

  free the individual from the constraints of their sense of moral responsibility and social norms making anti social and aggressive behaviour more likely
• factors contributing to de-individuation

  anonymity (wearing uniform) - shared responsibility (feeling less responsible for aggression as group is collectively involved - collective mindset) - intoxication (drugs and alcohol reducing inhibitions and sense of personal responsibility)
• zimbardo de-individuation

  in crowds of de-individuated people there is less fear of negative consequences and a reduced sense of guilt as they ten on identity of crowd rather than individual identity - as if moral responsibility shifts from individual to group - aggression more likely - e.g. zimbardo's prison study wearing reflective glasses = loss of identity
• DE-INDIVIDUATION EVALUATION - Zimbardo hooded electric shock study

  4 female undergraduates deliver shocks to students to aid learning - half participants wore hoods that hid faces and weren't referred to by name and half wore normal clothes and given large name tags - participants in de-individuated condition shocked learner twice as long as individuated participants - suggests de-individuation removes personal responsibility and increases likelihood of aggression
• DEINDIVIDUATION EVALUATION - Deiner


  1,300 children on halloween night in America studied - noted that children far more likely to steal money and sweets (aggressive) when they wore costumes and in large groups meant they couldn't be recognised and were anonymous - suggests deindividuation can explain why children may show aggressive behaviour
• DEINDIVIDUATION EVALUATION - can lead to pro social behaviour

  Johnson and Downing - found in replication of zimbardo's electric shock study that participants shocked more than control group when dressed like Ku Klux Klan but shocked less than controls when in nurse uniforms - suggests aggressive behaviour dependent on norms associated with uniform as opposed to uniforms themselves