De-individuation

• De-individuation, Le Bon - the loss of personal identity in the presence of others
• Crowd behaviour

  • Lose restraint and behaviour in mischievous ways
  • Loose senses of individual self-identity an responsibility of own behaviour
  • Greater disregard for norms and laws
  • Responsibility shared with the crowd - Less personal guilt
• How deindividuation leads to aggression, Zimbardo

  • Individuated state - Behaviour is rational and normative

  De-individuated - Emotional, impulsive and irrational - Anti-normative and disinhibited:

  • Loose self awareness
  • Stop monitoring and regulating own behaviour

  Conditions of DI promoting aggression:

  • Drugs
  • Alcohol
  • Anonymity - Less fear of retribution as we and unidentifiable + Less people have a chance to judge us
• Role of self awareness, Prentice-Dunn + Rogers

  Two types of self-awareness:

  1. Private self awareness - Pay attention to own feelings and behaviour

  • Reduced when we are in a crowd
  • Focus on events happening around us
  • Less self critical

  1. Public self awareness - How much we care about what other people think of our behaviour

  • Reduced when in crowds
  • Anonymous
• Research into de-individuation, Dodd

  Method: Questioned 200 students, 'If you could do anything humanely possible with complete assurance that you would not be detected or help responsible, what would you do?'

  • Responses made anonymous
  • Independent raters who did not know hypothesis - Categorised what is antisocial behaviour

  Findings:

  • 40% - Some antisocial behaviour
  • 30% - Criminal acts - Mostly rob a bank
  • 10% - Prosocial behaviours

  Conclusion - Link between anonymity, deindividuation and aggressive behaviour
• Evaluation of de-individuation - Research support

  Douglas + McGarty: Aggressive online behaviour in chatroom with instant messaging

  Findings:

  • Strong correlation - Anonymity and flaming - Threatening posts / messages
  • Most aggressive - People who chose to hide their real identities
  • Link - Anonymity, de-individuation and aggression

  Social media trolls etc.

  Strength: Real-life support
• Evaluation of de-individuation - Lack of support

  Gergen et al: Deviance in the dark - Do whatever they wanted in a dark room

  • With strangers they were guaranteed to never meet again

  Findings:

  • Quickly kissed and touched each other

  Variation: Told they will see them after

  • Kissing and touching declined

  Aggression was not present despite them being de-individuated

  Limitation: Validity question as aggression not shown in a de-individuated setting
• Evaluation of de-individuation - De-individuation and prosocial behaviour

  Johnson + Downing: Female ppts gave fake electric shocks to a confederate

  • Ppts in KKK outfit - Masks hiding face
  • Ppts in nurse outfit
  • Ppts in normal clothes

  Findings:

  • Control group - KKK gave more and more intensive shocks + Nurses gave fewer at lower levels
  • Nurses were more companionate - Prosocial role

  Aggression and prosocial behaviour - Outcomes of de-individuation with normative cues determine which is most likely to happen

  Strength: Supports validity