Individuation

What is deindividuation? Deindividuation occurs when an individual loses his or her normal identity and inhibitions to engage in behaviors that individual would not normally perform. This happens when a group of people demonstrate social loafing (individuals putting in less effort because they are part of a group, and each individual is trying to accomplish a common goal). These groups then diffuse responsibility and lower evaluation apprehension in an individual at the same time as they arouse that individual. In 1969 and 2007, Philip Zimbardo stated that there are 3 contributing factors to deindividuation. These three factors are arousal, anonymity, and diffused responsibility. Zimbardo believed that the occurrence of these three factors lowers an individual’s inhibitions and will be more likely to incline that individual to engage in antisocial behavior. In 1981, Steven Prentice-Dunn and Ronal Rogers believed that people think they can go as far as they go without punishment because of accountability cues (conditions in a situation that cause less identity in an individual). These accountability cues cause an individual to be more vulnerable to deviant behavior because of that individual’s cost-reward calculations (identifies that cost of the interaction and the reward of the interaction to determine the behavior in the situation). These investigators believed that deindividuation only occurs in groups, later research would suggest that it could occur outside the group. In 1980, Ed Diener believed that an individual’s lack of self-awareness is the major reason why deindividuation occurs. Diener thought a lack of self-awareness leads to people not think of themselvess individuals because they cannot view their own inner values and behaviors. Diener would later discover in his research study - young trick-or-treaters stealing candy on Halloween - that reduced self-awareness is a component of deindivduation. In 1998, Tom Postmes and Russell Spears