Deindividuation THE LOSS OF ONE’S SENSE OF INDIVIDUALITY

Identify all of the different types of aggression being shown in the power point. • Rioting • Soldier • Ku Klux Klan – racism • Protestors • Sport • Tribal warrior • Soldiers in uniform • Drunk people • Online gaming • Social media

Identify things that these examples of aggression have in common. • Group scenarios • Uniform • Anonymous • Loss of personal identity • Increase in antisocial behaviour • Disinhibition • Deviant behaviour

3. These examples of aggression all relate to deindividuation 3. These examples of aggression all relate to deindividuation. Based on the examples in the power point, create a definition of de-individuation and how it could explain aggression. De-individuation relates to the loss of personal identity that occurs when we are in certain situations that increase our anonymity. This causes our behaviour to be less constrained by social norms, which leads to us losing our inhibitions – something that increases the likelihood of antisocial behaviour occurring.

Deindividuation – to lose one’s sense of individuality and identity. Can occur in 2 main ways – Becoming part of a crowd Identifying with a particular role ( often aided by wearing uniform or mask) Can be used to explain aggression which occurs when in a group.

A collective mindset is created and the group can become a ‘mob’. Individuals are more likely to behave in aggressive manner when part of a large anonymous group. A collective mindset is created and the group can become a ‘mob’. Individuals feel less identifiable in a group, so the normal constraints that prevent aggressive behaviour may be lost. The shared responsibility for action reduces individual guilt.

Individuated and deindividuated behaviour Zimbardo (1969) distinguished between two types of behaviour: Individual – rational, conforms to social standards Deindividuated – primitive urges and non-conforming Anonymity reduces inhibitions and provokes unusual behaviour When part of a crowd individuals become faceless and their guilt is reduced This can reduce public self-awareness (being anonymous to others) but also may reduce private self-awareness as a result of losing focus within the group

What does Deindividuation lead to: Public self awareness Private self awareness Concern about impression Can be reduced by anonymity/ diffusion of responsibility. Own thoughts and feelings Can be reduced by becoming so involved in an activity we forget ourselves. So...loss of private awareness leads to a loss of internal standards & over reliance on environmental cues. So...loss of public awareness leads to a loss of public standards of behaviour and lowers our inhibitions.

Anonymous group behaviour ensures a reduced capability to engage in rational thinking. Fans become so involved in game that they are no longer self aware

If you could do anything humanely possible with complete assurance that you wouldn’t be detected or held responsible, what would you do? Your responses will be completely anonymous. In order to further increase your anonymity you could write your responses in capital letters so your hand-writing style would be more difficult to detect. You have five minutes to write down as much as you can in response to the question and aim to write at least a page overall.

The next part of the task involves you doing content analysis on one of your peer’s responses. You should perform a content analysis on the page of writing in front of you by producing a table that consists of categories relating to the different types of antisocial and prosocial behaviour you identify. Put a cross in each category in relation to every occurrence of that behaviour. The categories will ultimately be a reflection of what your peers write but an example of a simple table would be:

Dodd (1985) developed a technique to demonstrate deindividuation He asked 229 undergraduate psychology students: 'if you could do anything humanly possible with complete assurance that you would not be detected or held responsible, what would you do?'. Three independent raters rated the students' responses into those that were antisocial or not. The results found that 36% of the responses were antisocial and 26% were criminal (types of responses referring to acts such as 'robbing a bank'). This research demonstrates the connection between deindividuation as a result of anonymity, and subsequent aggression.

Examples of Deindividuation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCyrGC1wh4I

Using page 112-113 make notes on Deindividuation: Conformity Obedience

Apply question page 113