The social psychology concept, deindividuation, is the psychological state in which a person has a lower sense of individuality and personal responsibility, due to the anonymity of being in a crowd of people. (Psychology concepts) Deindividuation can lead to poor self-control and is used to summarize mob behaviors resulting in police brutality, rioting and lynching. These unrestrained behaviors are usually provoked by the power of the group.
When part of a mob, people feel that they cannot be held responsible for violent behavior hoping that their actions would be perceived as the groups rather than their own behavior. Physical anonymity can lead to a person experiencing fewer social inhibitions. Many types of studies were explored to prove this theory. In 1970, Philip Zimbardo conducted a study to shock women dressed in identical outfits that were similar to the Ku Klux Klan’s outfit concealed their identity. The study also included woman whose identity was exposed just wearing a large nametag. As a result, the women hidden underneath the Ku Klux Klan’s outfit shocked the staged participants longer than those that didn’t have their identity concealed.
In 1995, a similar test was conducted. Patricia Ellison, John Govern, and their colleagues wanted to test deindividuation on the streets. The confederate this time waited after the light turned green for 12 seconds to see how the 4x4 vehicles and the convertible with the top down exposing the driver behind the confederate reacted to the wait.. The 4x4 that were relatively anonymous with their tops up honked one-third sooner, twice as often and for nearly twice as long. (Meyers)
In 1976, a research team led by Ed Diener ingeniously demonstrated the effect both being in a group and ...
... middle of paper ...
...ucted and basically concluded that there is a self-reinforcing pleasure in acting impulsively while observing others acting similarly. There’s a sense of belonging and acceptance. Furthermore, impulsive group action absorbs our attention. (Meyers) Being made self-aware, opposite of deindividuation, by acting in front of a mirror or a TV camera, exhibits self-control where there actions reflected their attitudes. The importance is to find the balance and self-control. In other words, when in the presence of others, be self-aware; maintain your personal identity; be wary of deindividuation.
Work Cited
Castillo, Michael del. "Every Man's Entourage."BizJournals. N.p., 22 May 2012. Web. 14 Mar 2014.
Meyers, David. Exploring Social Psychology. 6th ed. Manhattan: McGraw-Hill, 2012. Print.
"Diener, Fraser, Beaman, and Kelem (1976)." Wikipedia. N.p.. Web. 16 Mar 2014.
This sentiment becomes explicitly apparent in the context of mobs, specifically, Colonel Sherburn gives a tirade to the mob planning to hang him and he states that “‘Why don’t your juries hang murderers? Because they’re afraid the man 's friends will shoot them in the back, in the dark -- and it 's just what they would do. ‘So they always acquit; and then a man goes into the night, with a hundred masked cowards at his back, and lynches the rascal’” (134). According to this speech, Sherburn asserts that the entire mob prioritizes self-preservation over enforcing any form of justice. This is true in both the crowds prosecution of Colonel Sherburn after his broad daylight murder of Boggs and the Colonel’s statements on how the crowd allows for potential criminals and murderers to escape trial. Ironically, the release of dangerous individuals into society is more of a destructive behavior. This passage reveals that crowds will allow the endangerment a single person to ensure the preservation of the majority, or alternate group, in this case, the Jury sacrifices the prosecution by acquitting the alleged killer. Thus, the fashion in which mobs think actually hinders the enforcement of moral
To demonstrate, Dr. Phillip Zambardo experiments he proved that the influence of a group is strong on an individual. He conducted
The Bystander Effect is a psychological experience investigated by John Darley and Bibb Latané, in which individuals conform with a group identity to not help in a situation. It is apparent that the more people there are on scene, the less likely for someone to help a victim. Some things that can have impact on the individual conforming to the bystander effect are the social influences, the responsibility and the characteristics in the event.
In the teleplay “The Monsters are Due on Maple Street” written by Rod Serling, a small street in a suburban American town falls into chaos after they lose all electricity, and in an effort to find the monsters responsible, they become animals. They search for a scapegoat and let their imagination et the best of them because “for a moment their fear almost turns their walk into a wild stampede, but Steve's voice, loud, incisive, and commanding, makes them stop. ‘Wait a minute...wait a minute! Let's not be a mob!’ The people stop as a group, seem to pause for a moment, and then much more quietly and slowly start to walk across the street. ” (Rod Serling ?). The residents of Maple Street fall victim to herd mentality. They rush to find the culprit and they lose all sense of moral and judgement. As they are about to become a mob they listen to Steve as he advises that they do not. All the residents of Maple Street listen to him and sure, he did use mob mentality to do good, but it goes to show the amount of power one man holds. Similarly, in the article “Why People Follow The Crowd” written by ABC News, the article discusses how humans are willing to let go of their beliefs, morals, and
Group formation or formation of cliques is typically seen as the stereotypical jocks, cheerleaders, geeks, or nerds. But what most do not necessarily take into consideration is that members of each group have an existing commonality between them even if most of the members do not know what that common trait is. Being a part of a group can have an impact on an individual. Through group discussion, individuals only strengthen their beliefs due to the fact that they know that they are not alone in those beliefs since they have friends
By attempting to imitate the expected forms of expression of mainstream identities, the person is choosing to diminish part of their self. While Blackmore suggests that, “What makes us different is our ability to imitate (Blackmore p. 3),” covering can have strongly negative effects upon an individual and ostracized groups. By choosing to cover, an individual internalizes and upholds the ideology that some identities are better than others. Some people argue against a negative view of covering, suggesting that it is product of nurture and not fully a person’s conscious decision. Excusing covering by simply explaining it as a byproduct of a person’s upbringing is harmful because it does not hold the person accountable for their own actions. However, once the excuse behind explaining covering as an unconscious decision, the factor of consciousness is important to consider. Due to the
Lieberman J, Arndt J, Personius J, Cook A. “Vicarious Annihilation: The Effect of Mortality Salience on Perceptions of Hate Crimes”. Law & Human Behavior (Springer Science & Business Media B.V.). December 2001;25(6):547. Available from: Business Source Alumni Edition, Ipswich, MA. Accessed April 1, 2014.
Zimbardo has done much research on studying the effects of deindividuation amongst people in groups. His results proved that when anonymous, people feel isolated from others and have no regard for their actions. Additionally, this state is also active when one is not held to the consequences of their actions. While in this state, people are more likely to be involved in impulsive behaviors due to a lower threshold for exhibiting actions that are usually held back. (Gilovich 2013)
Many of the guards in the Zimbardo experiment entered into a false identity to escape the torment they created when releasing their sadistic nature (Zimbardo 738). They found it easier to blame and take out their frustration on the prisoners than to go against the role they were acting. This is similar to McEwan’s experiment because both of them exhibit that most individuals harbor a deep urge to unleash their anger. When this anger is concentrated together, then it can be used as an instrument of destruction. This is especially the case when there is an authoritative figure leading the group (Zimbardo ). The influential control of a group mind could be used in a positive manner; however, if the inner aggression of a group mind is not handled with caution, then it could wreak
The avoidance group is people who we want to distance ourselves from. The author states that the reason we do this is because we want our behavior to be like the group wants us to be, and if anybody disagrees we stay away from them. The final group is We like to do it in groups. The first point is Phenomenon Deindividuation. Phenomenon Deindividuation is where a individual indentities becomes lost with in a group. The second point is Group shopping. Group shopping and behavior and home shoppong parties: People more likely to buy more when shopping in a group, where pressure to crnform may be intense (bandwagon effect). The reason we do this is because if we dont buy what everyone else is buying then we can become a outcast. The last part of the story is Conformity. Conformity is a change in beliefs or actions as a reaction to real or imagined group. The norms of conformity are unspoken rules that grovern many aspects of consumption. There are five factors that influence of conformity. They are: Cultural Pressures, Fear Of Deviance, Commitment, Group Unanimity, Size, and Expertise and finally Susceptibility to Interpersonal
... that areas of expertise can be exploited, different people are good at different things. Groups can discuss material, and that discussion can improve the quality of the decision. Groups are less likely to suffer from judgmental biases that individuals have when they make decisions. People are more likely to follow through on decisions made by groups that they are connected to. Also, more monumental decisions can be made in groups, because one member will not be singled out for blame, making the entire group responsible.
Depersonalization is a state in which a person experiences either his feelings, thoughts, memories, or bodily sensations as not belonging to himself. DPD is experienced in many syndromes such as depression, hypomania, phobic anxiety, OCD, borderline disorders, or schizophrenia (Trueman 1). It may also be linked to emotional or physical abuse in childhood. Depersonalization may affect one to two percent of the general population and eighty percent of psychiatric patients (Brown 1).
Stott, C. (2009). Crowd Psychology & Public Order Policing: An Overview of Scientific Theory and Evidence. Submission to the HMIC of Policing of Public Protest Review Team (Liverpool, University of Liverpool).
Several experiments and researches have been conducted that have focused on how people behave in groups. The findings have revealed that groups affect peoples’ attitudes, behavior and perceptions. Groups are essential for personal life, as well as in work life.
Weiner, I. Healy, A. Freedheim, D. Proctor,R.W., Schinka,J.A. (2003) Handbook of Psychology: Experimental psychology,18, pp 500