Deindividuation

Deindividuation is a state of lowered self-awareness, a temporary loss of personal identity resulting from becoming part of a group, such as an army or a mob, but it can also occur in situations wherein people feel anonymous. It can have very destructive effects, sometimes making people more likely to commit a crime (Diener, 1976), or leading policemen to use excessive force in an arrest. Deindividuation has been hypothesized as a major cause of rioting, such as the violent rioting occurred in the 1992 riots in south central Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. Because people in a deindividuated mental state lose awareness of themselves, they ignore external evaluation of themselves by other people, and are unrestrained by their normal inhibitions. Deindividuation occurs when one loses one's social identity and behaves in a manner in which one usually would not behave (Nelson, 2005).