Deindividuation
Colorado Technical University
De-individuation
De-individuation is defined as when someone does something outside their normal behavior that they wouldn’t ordinary due in ideal circumstances. A loss of one’s own sense of morality responsibility and accountability. A way to lose yourself in none ideal circumstances. And there can be many reasons for such behavior some semi justifiable and some not so justifiable. For example being part of a large group such as the current trend in these so called flash mobs that can be used for positive purposes like getting a whole mall to suddenly dance or sing carols. Or using social media to flash rob stores where kids send me hundreds of kids into stores or malls at the same time to steal and harass people. Then there is time when you do bad things for survival like steal for food and medicine after a disaster. And this is when the strongest of the strongest show there colors and the weakest of the weakest show their colors as well. THE example e presented such as Katrina. This also can occur, when you do something as anonymous and knowing the risk of being caught is very low. (Free Dictionary).
"That line between good and evil is permeable," Zimbardo said. "Any of us can move across it....I argue that we all have the capacity for love and evil--to be Mother Theresa, to be Hitler or Saddam Hussein. It's the situation that brings that out." (Zimbardo, P. G. 1971).
Zimbardo thought what may cause these potential things first one would be provide them with a plausible excuse for their actions another words diffuse blame. Condition people into seeing what small things people are willing to do and how far they will go and increase the circumstances little by little. Using logical Fallacies such as appealing to authority "I was just taking orders" Excuse. Keep changing the rules, altering the circumstances get people used to sudden rule changes without reason. Relabel and redefine the situation that legitimized the behavior I had to kill him over the food it was either me or him and it was not going to be me excuse. Provide people with social modes of compliance create uniform models of compliance of what is expected of the person, Allow people to dissent while complying with the current set of orders, I disagree with this mode of operation but I will do it anyways. Zimbardo, P. G. (1971). Then of course like the mafia make the retirement plan as hostile and difficult as possible offer very little opportunity to exist the situation.(Dittmann, M. (2004, October).
We can produce several experiments and several real life events where the bad things happen for example during the Katrina hurricane we seen good and bad We seen people looting stealing and fighting at the same time we seen people risking it all to help each other and protect each other’s property.
Now here are some quotes from people who admitted they were looting. “To be honest with you, people who are oppressed all their lives, man, it’s an opportunity to get back at society,” one man said as he was watching the looting apparently robbing innocent store owners is getting revenge for oppression.(AP/NBC , 2005).
One man, who had about 10 pairs of jeans draped over his left arm, was asked if he was salvaging things from his store. “No,” the man shouted, “that’s everybody’s store.”(AP/NBC, 2005).
And the plausible most humane rational excuse “It’s about survival right now,” she said as she held a plastic bag full of purloined items. “We got to feed our children. I’ve got eight grandchildren to feed.” so it’s all about need for this woman. (AP/NBC, 2005).
The changes in the situation of Katrina and other hurricane related disasters. Was the environment changed food and water was harder to get. Resources and transportation was reduced. As well as emergency and police services priorities have been changed and can no longer respond as quickly to disputes or crimes as fast as they used to be able too. Which when you are less likely to be caught you are more likely to do something you would not normally do. (Flow Psychology. n.d.). When you are anonymous you are more likely to do something you would not do be it loot in Katrina or start arsons in Ferguson. Or at the OWS protests poop on police cars.
Also when you are alone or in a group and no one in the group is going to stop you some may even encourage you will also more likely do something that is outside the normal. (Flow Psychology. n.d.). As we seen some of the excuses where everything from humanitarian excuses like survival or revenge against perceived or real injustices by taking it out on people who may not be connected to the source or rage or revenge. Or in the case of Abu Ghraib which reinforced the Stanford prison experiment. (Zimbardo, P. G. 1971)
The larger the group the more anonymous you become m the less likely you are to be caught as an individual, as you notice some rioters and looters wear masks to increase the anonymous since they are intended to do things perhaps outside social norms and are being carried away with it with the group and producing a re enforcement bias of large groups of people. (Dittmann, M. 2004, October). All over the above is reinforced by the Asch experiment, the Stanford prison experiment as well as Miligrams experiment in conformity.
AP/NBC (n.d.). Looters strike New Orleans after storm - US news - Katrina, The Long Road Back | NBC News. Retrieved from http://www.nbcnews.com/id/9131493/ns/us_news-katrina_the_long_road_back/t/looters-take-advantage-new-orleans-mess/#.VqbODfkrKUk
Deindividuation - definition of deindividuation by The Free Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.thefreedictionary.com/deindividuation
Deindividuation Psychology | Flow Psychology. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://flowpsychology.com/deindividuation-psychology/
Dittmann, M. (2004, October). What makes good people do bad things? Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/oct04/goodbad.aspx
Zimbardo, P. G. (1971). Stanford Prison Experiment. Retrieved from http://www.prisonexp.org