Effects of public and private self-awareness on deindividuation and aggression.

Tested the proposition, derived from the authors' (in press) differential self-awareness theory, that only 1 type of antecedent variable traditionally associated with deindividuation (attentional cues) and a single aspect of self-awareness (private) are involved in the deindividuation process. 48 male undergraduates were assigned to groups of 4 and were exposed to factorial combinations of attentional cues (internal vs external focus of attention) and accountability cues (potential accountability to authority figures and victims) and then allowed to aggress against a victim. As predicted, attentional cues affected private but not public self-awareness, whereas accountability cues altered public but not private self-attention. External attentional cues and low accountability cues disinhibited aggression relative to internal attentional cues and high accountability cues, respectively. Exposure to external attentional cues created an internal state of deindividuation, composed of reduced private self-awareness and altered experience, that mediated aggression. Two major types of collective aggression were identified: One category resulted from group members' assessments of the possibility of an authority figure's and the victim's surveillance of their attacks; the other category resulted from the decreased cognitive mediation of behavior evoked by the deindividuation process. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of deindividuating situational cues and aggressive models on subjective deindividuation and aggression.

Demonstrated that a subjective state of deindividuation mediates the effect of deindividuating situational cues on aggression displayed by small groups of coacting aggressors. 72 male university students were instructed to administer shocks to another person in what they thought were studies of biofeedback and behavior modification. The deindividuated state was composed of 2 factors, Self-Awareness and Altered Experiencing, both of which had a causal influence on aggressive behavior. These data are interpreted in terms of deindividuation theories that assume that certain input variables reduce self-awareness and concern about social evaluation and thereby weaken the restraints against expressing antisocial behavior. As predicted, compared with a no-model control condition, a high-aggressive model disinhibited overt displays of aggression, whereas a low-aggressive model inhibited aggression among both individuated and deindividuated group members. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deindividuation and antinormative behavior: A meta-analysis.

A meta-analytic integration reviews evidence for deindividuation theory as an explanation of collective and antinormative behavior. Deindividuation theories propose a subjective deindividuated state that causes transgression of general social norms. Deindividuation research classically manipulates anonymity, self-awareness, and group size. Results of 60 independent studies showed little support for (a) the occurrence of deindividuated (antinormative) behaviors or (b) the existence of a deindividuated state. Research results were explained more adequately by situation-specific than by general social norms. Analyses indicated that groups and individuals conform more to situation-specific norms when they are "deindividuated." These findings are inconsistent with deindividuation theory but support a social identity model of deindividuation effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social Exclusion and the Deconstructed State: Time Perception, Meaninglessness, Lethargy, Lack of Emotion, and Self-Awareness.

The authors hypothesize that socially excluded individuals enter a defensive state of cognitive deconstruction that avoids meaningful thought, emotion, and self-awareness, and is characterized by lethargy and altered time flow. Social rejection led to an overestimation of time intervals, a focus on the present rather than the future, and a failure to delay gratification (Experiment 1). Rejected participants were more likely to agree that "Life is meaningless" (Experiment 2). Excluded participants wrote fewer words and displayed slower reaction times (Experiments 3 and 4). They chose fewer emotion words in an implicit emotion task (Experiment 5), replicating the lack of emotion on explicit measures (Experiments 1-3 and 6). Excluded participants also tried to escape from self-awareness by facing away from a mirror (Experiment 6). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of self-differentiation and anonymity in group on deindividuation.

Investigated the effects of deindividuating conditions (i.e., anonymity) on the behaviors and feelings of self-differentiated and less self-differentiated individuals. 40 male 17–18 yr olds were divided on the basis of their scores on the portable rod-and-frame test into self-differentiated and undifferentiated groups. Each S was exposed to transgressive and prosocial behavior of 2 group members who were confederates. Exposure to the models' behavior occurred under conditions of anonymity or identifiability. Additionally, measures of Ss' feelings were taken. Data indicate that relative to identifiability conditions, the transgressions and prosocial actions of the models had stronger effects on the behaviors of undifferentiated Ss under anonymity conditions. Also, undifferentiated Ss felt less self-conscious and less inhibited under anonymity than identifiability conditions. The behaviors and feelings of self-differentiated Ss were relatively unaffected by the anonymity–identifiability manipulation. A conceptual link between self-differentiation, self-awareness, and deindividuation is proposed. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interrelations among three criteria of improvement in group therapy: Comfort, effectiveness, and self-awareness.

7 measures (3 of comfort, 2 of effectiveness, 2 of self-awareness) were obtained from 15 neurotic patients at the beginning and end of 20 weeks of group therapy. "Significant change was found on three measures… . Of the 21 intercorrelations between change scores, only one was significant at the .05 level." The "assumption that changes on different measures and criteria go together and that improvement can be considered a unitary process" is not supported. 16 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Objective self-awareness as a variable in counseling process and outcome.

Hypothesized that client objective self-awareness (OSA), as both a transient state and an enduring trait, is important in counseling. OSA refers to reflexive attention to oneself and internal comparison of one's own behavior with salient societal or personally held values. 60 undergraduates completed the Private Self-Consciousness subscale of The Self-Consciousness Scale, the Procrastination Log, and the Procrastination Inventory. Two levels of trait OSA were used as a blocking variable, while 3 counseling conditions varied the amount of state OSA. The self-aware condition sought to enhance S self-focus, the non-self-aware condition sought to minimize S self-focus, and the control group received no counseling. Findings indicate an interaction between trait and state dimensions such that Ss high in trait OSA were most affected by the interview that sought to enhance state OSA. Ss low in trait OSA were the only ones who made changes over time in behavior and self-satisfaction. Findings have implications for therapeutic approaches to clients with differing amounts of dispositional self-consciousness. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual standards and reactions to pornography: Enhancing behavioral consistency through self-focused attention.

Reports 3 studies which tested the hypothesis, derived from self-awareness theory, that behavior would be more consistent with personal attitudes or standards when attention was self-focused. In the 1st study, 52 male undergraduates' attitudes toward erotica were measured, and 1 mo later the Ss were asked to rate pictures of nude women, while either self-focused (in front of a mirror) or not. There was little relationship between pretested attitudes and reactions toward the pictures for the non-self-focused group; however, the same relationship was very strong for the group that rated pictures in front of a mirror. In the 2nd and 3rd studies, female Ss (51 and 48 undergraduates, respectively) were first pretested on the Mosher Sex-Guilt Scale. Two weeks later they read and rated pornographic passages, again, while either self-focused or not. The relationship between pretested standards (sex guilt) and reactions to sexual literature was weak in the non-self-aware condition, but considerably stronger for the self-focused Ss. Results suggest that focusing attention upon the self tends to inhibit behaviors that are inconsistent with personal attitudes or standards. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deindividuation: Effects of group size, density, number of observers, and group member similarity on self-consciousness and disinhibited behavior.

Predictions about the social causes of self-consciousness in groups were derived from the theory of deindividuation and tested in 3 experiments with 618 university students and adults. In Exp I, it was found that increasing group size was related to a decrease in self-consciousness. Group density did not influence self-consciousness. In Exp II, it was found that increases in the number of observers increased self-consciousness. In Exps I and II, self-reports of self-consciousness were independent of one's group, whereas the degree of behavioral disinhibition was highly correlated within groups. In Exp III, it was found that gender similarity within a group was related to lower self-consciousness. Findings support a perceptual/attentional model of self-consciousness within groups. Contrary to deindividuation theory predictions, however, behavior intensity did not vary across conditions in Exps I and II, even though self-consciousness did differ. This finding suggests that deindividuation theory is incomplete in its present form. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Screening for disinhibited disorder cases in a college population: Performance of the SMAST, DAST, SCID-II-Q, and PDQ-4.

Psychiatric disorders characterized by disinhibition--substance use disorders, antisocial personality disorder (PD), and borderline PD--represent a serious risk to the safety and health of college students. The ability of researchers and clinicians to identify students most at risk for disinhibited disorders associated with campus crime, violence, and self-harm depends on measures with strong evidence of diagnostic efficiency, yet data on the diagnostic efficiency of screening measures in college populations are lacking. The authors addressed this need by examining the diagnostic efficiency of commonly used screening measures for disinhibited disorders in a sample of 2,085 students, 79 of whom also completed diagnostic interviews. Results suggest that the diagnostic efficiency (e.g., sensitivity, specificity) of screening measures for substance use disorders and antisocial PD in college samples can be increased by making simple adjustments in screening cutoff criteria. Similar adjustments did not increase the diagnostic efficiency of the screening measure for borderline PD, and this suggested that certain screeners may best be aimed at ruling out disorders. This type of information offers users flexibility with which to tailor the screening threshold to serve different objectives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dietary restraint: Some current findings and speculations.

Reviews recent findings on the disinhibition of dietary restraint. Disinhibition induced by preloading depends more on the perception that the diet has been broken than on actual calorie content of the preload. Disinhibition can also result from emotional distress, with ego-threats more likely than physical fear to disinhibit eating. Low self-esteem dieters are more likely to become disinhibited than are high self-esteem dieters in response to both preloading and distress manipulations. Recent theoretical perspectives on disinhibition are examined and the possible role of self-awareness is highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deindividuation and valence of cues: Effects on prosocial and antisocial behavior.

Manipulated deindividuation and valence of costume cues in a 2?×?2 factorial design. P. G. Zimbardo's (1970) theory of deindividuation suggests that deindividuation should disinhibit antisocial behavior independent of cue valence, and should reduce any influence due to cues. The theory of K. J. Gergen et al (1973) suggests that cues may have increasing influence, given deindividuation, and that deindividuation may increase prosocial behavior, given positive cues, and increase antisocial behavior, given negative cues. Results support Gergen's position. Given options to increase or decrease shock level received by a stranger, no main effect was found for deindividuation. There was a main effect for costume cues, and an interaction of cues with deindividuation, with deindividuation facilitating a significant increase in prosocial responses in the presence of positive cues and a nonsignificant increase in antisocial responses in the presence of negative cues. Also cues interacted with trial blocks, prosocial behavior increasing with positive cues and antisocial behavior increasing with negative cues over trial blocks. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group similarity, public self-awareness, and opinion extremity: A social projection explanation of deindividuation effects.

Suggests that when a person reacts to an opinion, he/she will project an identical reaction onto similar others—in effect, self-generating a consensus that serves to polarize the opinion. Public self-awareness is assumed to individuate and to moderate opinions only when projection is disrupted. Two experiments, with 169 undergraduates, tested derivations from this theory. Exp I varied self-confidence induced by ability feedback (positive vs negative) and self-awareness induced by being or not being observed by camera. Results show that heightened self-awareness moderated opinions regardless of the S's initial level of self-confidence. Exp II varied group similarity (similar, dissimilar, or no information) and level of self-awareness (heightened vs low) using a 3?×?2 design in which opinion extremity was measured. Results confirm the prediction that opinions fluctuate systematically (polarize and moderate) with level of self-awareness only when the person is in a similar group. Low self-awareness tended to polarize opinions, whereas heightened self-awareness moderated them. The assumed direct relation between opinion intensity and behavioral extremity is discussed within the context of projection-predicted intensification effects of prosocial behavior. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alternative approaches to deindividuation.

Reviews two approaches to deindividuation research and theory. One approach has been to view deindividuation as a loss of restraints, afforded by anonymity and other forms of depersonalization. Theorists adopting this perspective, which has its origins in crowd theory, view the experience of deindividuation as a positively affective event. Theorists adopting the other view predict that deindividuation arouses negative affect and serves as a stimulus for behavior that establishes the uniqueness and continuity of a person's self-conceptions. Research testing each approach is reviewed, and areas for possible integration are posited. (104 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A test between deindividuation and emergent norm theories of crowd aggression.

In groups of 6–8, 89 female undergraduates who were either anonymous or identifiable to each other acted as an audience to a pair of discussants. Ss were given the opportunity to administer loud noise to the discussants. The response displayed to each group as an alleged average was manipulated so that Ss were led to believe that either an aggressive or a lenient norm had developed. As predicted by deindividuation theory, anonymous Ss administered significantly higher levels of noise than identifiable Ss. Anonymous Ss used equally loud noise regardless of group norm. Self-ratings provided evidence that the effects of anonymity were mediated by a psychological state of deindividuation, in addition to freedom from accountability for individual acts. There was no support for the crucial emergent norm theory prediction that aggression will be greatest when Ss who are identifiable to each other are exposed to an aggressive norm. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Groupdrink: The effects of alcohol and group process on vigilance errors.

This research examined how group processes alter the impact of alcohol on a judgment task requiring vigilance. The authors compared two competing explanations, deindividuation and group monitoring, for the possible effects of alcohol. Two hundred and eighty-six undergraduates with normal drinking habits undertook a vigilance task alone or in four-person groups having consumed either alcohol (calculated to achieve up to .08 blood alcohol content) or a placebo. The vigilance task required them to count occurrences of the word "the" in a spoken passage. Alcohol significantly impaired the performance of individuals but not groups. Group members performed at a similar level in both conditions, making fewer errors than individuals in the alcohol condition. The fit of different decision-making models were tested. In both the alcohol and placebo conditions, group consensus was predicted by processes consistent with the group monitoring hypothesis. The evidence highlights that under certain conditions, group process can compensate for the cognitively impairing effects of alcohol on individuals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rehabilitation treatment of sexuality issues due to acquired brain injury.

Brain injury can cause myriad deficits that affect an individual's sexuality. Sexuality has not been given much attention in the rehabilitation process. It is important for the rehabilitation team to treat psychosocial and sexual issues before the individual reenters the community. Treatments of psychosocial–sexual issues include sex education groups for survivors and families, social skills groups, individual and group psychotherapy, community skills training, and medication. These approaches can play an important role in helping survivors and their families cope with sexuality issues after brain injury and, thus, can increase self-awareness and decrease disinhibited behaviors. Three case studies describe sexuality issues and highlight the importance of awareness and the relationship between awareness and outcome. Treatment provides the survivor and family with information about how to discuss sexuality issues and teaches the survivor effective interaction skills so as to reduce unwanted sexual behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deindividuation and anger-mediated interracial aggression: Unmasking regressive racism.

Investigated the effects of deindividuation, anger, and race-of-victim on aggression displayed by 96 White male undergraduates. Deindividuating situational cues produced an internal state of deindividuation that mediated aggressive behavior. Deindividuation theories are extended by the finding that the internal state of deindividuation was composed not only of the factors Self-Awareness and Altered Experience, but also Group Cohesiveness, Responsibility, and Time Distortion. As predicted, nonangered Whites were less aggressive toward Black than White victims, but angered Whites were more aggressive toward Blacks than Whites. Interracial behavior was consistent with new, egalitarian norms if anger was not aroused, but regressed to the old, historical pattern of racial discrimination if anger was aroused. This pattern of interracial behavior was interpreted in terms of a new form of racism: regressive racism. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-esteem, restraint, and eating behavior.

The mediating influence of self-esteem on disinhibited eating was assessed in restrained and unrestrained subjects. Self-esteem was unrelated to the eating behavior of unrestrained subjects following a preload, but did moderate the disinhibitory effects of a preload on restrained subjects. Specifically, only those restrained subjects with low self-esteem displayed disinhibited eating after a preload. Theoretical and practical implications of this finding were discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reflectivity and learning from aversive events: Toward a psychological mechanism for the syndromes of disinhibition.

E. E. Gorenstein and J. P. Newman (1980) proposed that poorly modulated responding for reward is the common diathesis underlying disinhibited behavior in several traditionally distinct person categories: psychopathy, hysteria, early onset alcoholism, childhood hyperactivity, and nonpathological impulsivity (e.g., extraversion). The authors extend this proposal by theorizing a psychological mechanism that highlights relations among disinhibition, reflection, and failure to learn from aversive feedback. The hypothesized mechanism is presented as 4 generic stages of response modulation: the dominant response set, the reaction to an aversive event, the subsequent behavioral adaptation, and the immediate and long-term consequences of reflection, or the lack thereof. The mechanism has implications for disinhibited individuals' impulsivity and provides a point of departure to study factors responsible for similarities and differences among these syndromes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)