Psychology Atlas

How The Mind Works
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Psychological Phenomena

Deindividuation

Social Biases and Group Effects

Deindividuation is a concept in social psychology generally understood as the loss of individual self-awareness that can occur when a person is part of a group, although the exact nature of the process remains a matter of contention among researchers. Social psychologists studying it emphasize internal psychological processes at the level of the individual within a social situation, while other social scientists such as sociologists focus more on the broader social, economic, political and historical factors that shape events in a given society.

Facts
Core Claim
Loss of self-awareness in groups, though this is a matter of contention. 1
First Described Year
1952 1
Classification
Type of Phenomenon
Social or Interpersonal Phenomenon 1
Connections

In Branch

Sources
1. Deindividuation - Wikipedia
  • Overview
    Deindividuation is a concept in social psychology that is generally thought of as the loss of self-awareness in groups, although this is a matter of contention.
  • Classic theories (year)
    Festinger, Pepitone, and Newcomb revisited Le Bon's ideas in 1952, coining the term deindividuation to describe what happens when persons within a group are not treated as individuals.
  • lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
    Deindividuation is a concept in social psychology that is generally thought of as the loss of self-awareness in groups, although this is a matter of contention.
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.