Anonymity in groups can make people and more likely to conform or obey by diffusing responsibility
The feeling of responsibility can influence the degree conformity and obedience, the responsibility is diffused by anonymity. This comes de facto if the group is large enough, and large groups also facilitate individual efforts at anonymity—during the Chicago riots of 1968, many police notoriously covered their name tags before setting on the unarmed antiwar demonstrators. Groups also facilitate conformity by institutionalizing anonymity; examples range from the KKK to Star Wars’ Imperial Storm Troopers to the finding that in traditional human societies, warriors who transform and standardize their appearance before battle are more likely to torture and mutilate their enemies than warriors from cultures that don’t transform themselves. All use means to deindividuate, where the goal may not be to ensure that a victimized Them won’t be able to recognize you afterward as much as to facilitate moral disengagement so that you won’t be able to recognize you afterward.
References
- Sapolsky, Robert. (2017). Behave Chapter 12. Hierarchy, Obedience, and Resistance (p. 536). New York, NY: Penguin Random House.
Metadata
Type:🔴 Tags: Psychology / Social Psychology Status:☀️