Evaluation Points of the De-individuation Theory

1. Research conducted by Diener has contradicted the idea that de-individuation always leads
to aggressive behaviour being shown. He found that de-individuation within a crowd
behaviour can sometimes lead to an increase in pro-social & helping behaviour & this has
been observed in religious rallies + clear up operations after natural disasters.

2. Also crowd behaviour can sometimes be positive and non-aggressive, e.g. a pop concert
which is a positive experience and usually non-violent.

3. Research has often failed to distinguish between the effects of anonymity of those who are
victims (e.g. a faceless person who is attacked) & the anonymity of the faceless aggressors
(e.g. the mob who are vandalising cars & who are all wearing masks). Which of these
factors is more important for de-individuation to work efficiently is not clear.

4. Manstead has commented that being anonymous in most crowd situations does not reflect
real life situations of crowds, as some people are very confident when in a crowd, and they
do not care whether they are anonymous or not (they will still act aggressively).

5. De-individuation theory has stated that when we are in a group or crowd, our social norms
& values are undermined. However, contradictory research findings have suggested that
when in a group or crowd, there are strong norms & values that operate that will have an
impact on every individual. Usually this is in the form of whereby all members must act in
a certain way in a group in order to be accepted.

6. The local group norm are not always anti social or aggressive, some groups might not
agree with acting in an anti social and aggressive manner & one group member might
become an outcast if they did behave in such a way.

7. De-individuation can be supported by the idea of British football hooliganism, whereby

large crowds of male fans can form a large group and begin to act aggressively; this would
agree with the faceless crowd acting in an anti social way.

8. Marsh conducted research on football hooliganism and found that de-individuation does
seem to operate, but on different levels. Often the crowd of hooligans are made up of not
just one group, but several different groups that have merged over the course of the day.

9. The different groups have their own status & norms but are viewed by public as one large
anti social crowd, therefore de-individuation occurs within each of the different groups and
collective crowd.

10. When analysing de-individuation theory, we must look at several factors that not been
included. For instance, environmental factors can all increase or decrease the amount of
aggression shown. Research by Baron would suggest that aggression tends to increase in
hot conditions, so de-individuated behaviour might be worse when the weather is hot.

11. Biological theorists would state that de-individuation will not be displayed by all groups of
people and it depends on personality and individual differences. For instance, a group of
males might be more aggressive rather than a group of females, due to the factors of the
male testosterone. Therefore, aggression might have nothing to do with de-individuation
but linked with the biological theories.
12. It has also been suggested from evolutionary psychologists that males are more territorial
(e.g. gang warfare) and might have more inclinations to be aggressive rather than females.
Males have more physical power than females and might therefore show behaviour that is
more aggressive anyways, due to their biology.

13. People do not have to be part of a large de-individuated crowd in order to behave
aggressively. Some people might be naturally aggressive and might demonstrate their
behaviour when they are on their own. Hence, de-individuation theory cannot be the only
explanation of aggression. We do not always need to have the presence of others in order to
be aggressive. Many criminals who are aggressive and violent tend to work alone and do
not operate in de-individuated groups.

Research used to illustrate de-individuation theory

1) ZIMBARDO

Zimbardo aimed to test whether prison guards were aggressive and brutal because of
personality factors or was it due to the environment? The findings from the study suggested
that the environment of wearing uniforms and being anonymous (the guards wore reflective
sunglasses and all had similar uniforms) made them treat prisoners in an aggressive manner.
This illustrates the role of de-individuation and how it can increase aggressive behaviour.