Deindividuation free essay sample

Deindividuation theory is a social psychological account of the individual in the crowd/group. It would however be very important for us to first define ‘Deindividuation. ’ Various definitions have been given for the term ‘Deindividuation,’ here are a few; ?Deindividuation is a process whereby normal constraints on behavior are weakened as people lose their sense of individuality. It typically involves conditions that lessen individual identifiability essentially individuals are not seen or paid attention to as individuals. (Baron Richardson, 2004) ? It is a situation where anti-normative behavior is established in a group when the individual looses his/her sense of individuality as stated by Festinger and Diener in 1977. ?It is a psychological state of decreased self-evaluation, causing anti-normative and disinhibited behavior. It hinders reflection about the consequences of actions, rendering social norms impotent while increasing suggestibility to random outside influences. Several causes of deindividuation have also been identified; ? Anonymity ?Large group size ?Arousal ?Decreased self-awareness Group cohesiveness ?Diffused responsibility ?Sensory overload ?New/unstructured situations ?Alcohol Deindividuation is a major theory of group behavior in social psychology because it gives an explanation of collective behavior of violent crowds, football hooligans, cults, etc. We will write a custom essay sample on Deindividuation or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page According to Alvarez and Bachman (2008), deindividuation refers to individuals who lose their selves and their identity when they are involved in a group. This loss of a personal identity means that individuals are more capable of acting outside of the boundaries of their normal behavior. While being in a group there is a sense of freedom that is felt by the individuals which lets them to do things that they otherwise wouldn’t do if they were alone. we will be using sport especially the game of football as a mirror through which we can view/explain deindividuation. DEINDIVIDUATION IN SPORTS FANS (FOOTBALL) What causes fans during sporting events to act in an unruly manner? What causes them to begin to throw garbage? Rip their seats? Break out in riot? Or even begin to harm others in such events? The answer is deindividuation. One of the key contributing factors to deindividuation is social arousal and sporting events usually have a very intense level of arousal. Fans are watching the game intensely and are already aroused in that state, this level of arousal increase when something good or bad happens. In hockey, people cheer louder when someone slams into a wall, or when the referee gives a bad call or when their teams make winning shots or even when they witness a fight not related to the game at all. This state of arousal further increases when fans see or hear other fans shouting and screaming. This is where the violence in deindividuation comes in. Individuals are so engrossed in the game, and they feel like they are a part of the team. They look around and find a large crowd and they know that whatever happens, they can’t exactly be held responsible for it. Everyone suddenly begins to get hyper-aroused and pandemonium breaks out. People increasingly respond to social and situational cues in this state, thereby causing them to conform to whatever the group seems to be doing. If everyone seems to be distracting the goalie, or shouting rude remarks at the referee, a deindividuated individual is likely to join in. you would hardly find one person or a scattered handful of people throwing garbage into a stadium in response to a bad call by the referee, rather people see other people doing it and then they join in too. People in this state are highly disinhibited, therefore, things that they would normally not be found doing or they would have frowned upon, are no longer featured in their minds. Rather, they are responding basically on an emotional level without considerations that might otherwise prevent behavior. Here are some examples: In Ghana, up to 125 people died and hundreds were injured when football fans stampeded at a match in Accra in 2001. Accra Hearts were leading 2-1 against Asante Koko with five minutes left in the match when some fans began throwing bottles and chairs onto the pitch. Police then fired tear gas into the crowd, creating panic. Fans rushed to escape the gas, and in the ensuing crush, up to 125 people were killed. In Mali, after a World Cup qualifying match between Mali and Togo on 27th of March 2005, which Togo won 2-1, Mali fans rioted and went on a spree of destruction and violence. The trouble started when Togo scored the winning goal. Police fired tear gas at Mali fans who had invaded the pitch. The match was abandoned and the result awarded to Togo. The result set off a wave of violence in the capital of Mali, Bamako. Thousands of Mali fans in Bamako began chanting threats toward the Mali players, cars were set on fire, stores looted, property and monuments destroyed and a building housing the local Olympics committee burnt down.