The Lucifer Effect: Deindividuation

In Chapter 13 of the Lucifer Effect, Zimbardo discusses the topic of deindividuation.  I found it interesting that as soon as a person becomes anonymous, they are so much more likely to commit crimes they never would have if they were identifiable.  This is seen originally in the Stanford Prison experiment, when the guards' eyes (and identities) were concealed by reflective sunglasses.  Zimbardo drew the conclusion from their actions that anything that makes a person feel or seem anonymous decreases their sense of personal accountability.  Without holding themselves accountable for their actions, they are more likely to commit evil actions.  And, when put into a situation where it is socially acceptable to be violent or rude to others, people are ready to do things they never would have normally.

In daily life, these conclusions can also be seen.  When people treat you as just a person rather than a unique individual, a feeling of anonymity is achieved.  In a study where some college students were treated kindly and some treated as "guinea pigs", those who felt anonymous were more likely to steal from the professor when left alone in his office.  The lack of identifiability can result in "evil" behaviour a person would not likely engage in normally.

Psychology 2016

With this last post I want to conclude my experience on taking Psychology this semester. I think it has been a great opportunity for me to understand people's behaviors. Now that I learned a lot of scenarios where social influence can manage my behaviors (diffusion of responsibility), I feel more conscious of my decision-making. My favorite unit was by far "The transformations of Human Character". It amazes me how good people can end up showing their "evil side", like the guards of The Stanford Prison Experiment.
This class has helped me a lot to avoid social influence and take decisions by myself. Are you satisfied with what we learned in this class? Which was your favorite chapter? Would you like to learn something else about psychology before the year ends? Share your thoughts and maybe we can let Mr. Steward know!

Diffusion of responsibilty

In this blog I wanted to talk about Latane and Darley’s experiment of diffusion of responsibility. This last couple weeks I have been paying attention and I realized that this human behavior is really common in our society. Diffusion of responsibility is a social-psychological phenomenon by which a person is less likely to take responsibility for action when others are in present. The clearest example I saw about this circumstance was I while ago, during spring break.  I was taking a break from my ski day. I could see the entire slope from the bench which I was sitting. A man probably about 20 years old was going down with his snowboard really fast. He seemed to handle it pretty well, but suddenly he tripped on something and fell down in a rough way. He looked like he was in pain. Me and my friends saw the action perfectly and were worried about him, but it seemed like we were the only ones who cared. The people that were going down the same slope just looked at him and continued skiing like if nothing happened. After about 5 minutes the guy was still on the ground. Finally, a woman stopped and called the ski patrol. I was really surprised; Why didn’t anyone else stop before? I’m sure it was not because no one cared about him. It was just a matter of diffusion of responsibility. Responsibility is diffused when there are other people that could help. Everyone thought that someone else would help him, but because of that no one actually did. I was kind of upset after what happened and started thinking that everyone had been selfish. So, based on this last case, could diffusion of responsibility be compared to the human’s ego-centrism or is it just a matter of social influence?

Stereotypes as an Identity

In order for racism to not exist anymore, stereotypes have to be forgotten. So why is it so difficult to get rid of strongly ingrained racial stereotypes? Often I notice people can strongly believe in these stereotypes, and can often express them too, but people start to adhere to them. It seems to me that stereotypes are false, but are slowly becoming true again because people hear it constantly and start to subconsciously act in identical ways, almost like the 3rd graders who started to perform badly if they felt they were inferior - although the study was carried out in an odd way. I don't believe in stereotypes but hearing them constantly, whether as a joke or as an insult, definitely makes me feel as if adhering to it is the easy way to go.

Denying the Obvious

How can someone blatantly deny something they know is true? Do they maybe believe that if they hold their ground on the topic their opposition will change the subject or accept their view as correct? It amazes me how many people can simply stand there and say no, when the question is something simple like "Is 2+2=4?" What could possibly be going through their heads to the point where they will actually say that the sun orbits the earth, or god forbid they say the earth is flat. Is it just maybe they get overwhelmed and find it easier to stand their ground?

Scapegoating Races

Nowadays, there is a lot of controversy in the media talking about racism and privilege, specifically white privilege. You can actually meet people who are totally convinced white privilege is the cause of all their problems, and can become a part of exclusive groups who believe the same. I understand ending white privilege and stuff like that, but using all white people as scapegoats for personal problems is not a healthy way to approach a situation. I think it has turned into more of a hobby nowadays, because it is so common for so many people.

Projecting Anger

I find it interesting hearing about people projecting their anger and emotions towards someone, when they were given it by someone else. I can understand being frustrated, but why hurt someone else when you can hurt the main cause of your distress and anger? Personally, if someone wrongs me I just remember that they wronged me, and exact revenge either at the time or much later. I can understand projection but I don't see how it can become sustained projection, rather than just an outburst.