Social Psychology Unit 3 IP

Hurricane Katrina badly damaged New Orleans and its surrounding areas. Shortly after the hurricane, there were news reports of groups of looters. Often, when under the influence of a crowd, individuals will engage in behavior they would not normally participate in. This phenomenon is referred to as deindividuation.

Research and discuss the following:

In your own words, define deindividuation and explain its process (e.g., how it works, what changes happen within the individual to allow for unusual behavior).
Identify and describe a historical event that would be a good example of deindividuation.
Discuss how deindividuation could occur outside the presence of a crowd (i.e. in other settings in which a person feels unknown).
Include at least 1 source in your paper. Use in-text citations and a reference list according to APA-style guidelines.

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Social Psychology Unit 3 IP
When a disastrous event happens, there are reports of looters who take advantage of the situation to loot and steal from some of the businesses that are affected. The phenomenon is one that has been observed when disaster strikes such as Hurricane Katrina and many more. Such behavior of individuals often happens under the influence of a crowd and can lead to huge losses to some of the businesses that are affected by a given disaster. The phenomenon is known as deindividuation and is a concept in social psychology that explains the loss of self-awareness that happens among individuals when they are in groups. When an individual goes through deindividuation they easily forget about the stand they have towards certain issues and this may lead to inappropriate behavior as has been observed in the past. When people are in a crowd, many have a greater sense of confidence and can easily be influenced by others to perpetrate certain actions that they would otherwise not undertake.

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