Analyzing Zimbardos Account of Deindividuation - Essay Example

Download file to see previous pages... However not all scholars would confirm that the research subjects of Zimbardo undergoes deindividuation as such. Several researchers have looked for other reasons for why persons collectively are susceptible to disruptive or aggressive behavior. It is possible that modeling is a critical process. Some of the questions left by Zimbardo in relation to the problem of deindividuation are: (1) does a threatening form of infectivity take place in a group in which members mechanically activate each other’s reckless conduct; (2) when lights are abruptly turned off in a department store, does one quickly begin stealing as much expensive products as possible because other people are seen to be taking part in the same agitated conduct? Scholars have been baffled by the potential contribution of ‘responsibility’. For instance, would deliberately changing the responsibility of a group member drive one to even higher intensities of unrestrained conduct?    Being in a group can result in increased stimulation, a feeling of anonymity, decreased self-perception, and the involuntary modeling of the behaviors of other people. This kind of deindividuation can lead to uncontrolled, usually disruptive and violent, behavior. It is the contention of this paper that an individual’s behavior reveals predetermined attributes and fundamental behaviors when we ought to perhaps focus more on social and physical forces. According to Zimbardo, in the case of individual behavior, one is more prone to identify situational forces. 
The sheer company or presence of other people improves performance on easy tasks but harm performance on complicated or difficult tasks (Wortley 2002). This can take place even without intricate intervening cognitions. Individuals, as well as institutions and groups one is socially related to, are component of one’s identity and affect one’s self-worth and perception (Abelson et al. 2004). People personalize their triumphs and frustrations, shouting out the former and detaching themselves from the latter.
To feel affectionate for another individual implies, among other things, to involve that individual in one’s identity. This includes distinguishing, viewing, and, decisively, setting aside resources for that individual as one does for her/himself. Social exclusion brings about violence or hostility. Individuals excluded or ...Download file to see next pagesRead More