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When people are part of a crowd, they sometimes behave in ways they would never behave as individuals. Riots, looting, and crowd violence are examples of behaviours that seem to "take over" individuals in group settings. Deindividuation is a key psychological concept that explains why this happens.
Deindividuation is a psychological state in which a person loses their sense of individual identity and becomes less aware of their own personal values, morals, and standards of behaviour. This leads to an increase in impulsive, anti-social, and aggressive behaviour.
Deindividuation occurs when people feel anonymous — they believe they cannot be identified and therefore will not be held personally accountable for their actions.
Philip Zimbardo (1969) proposed that deindividuation occurs when conditions reduce a person's sense of self-awareness and individual responsibility. These conditions include:
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