Deindividuation

Derren Brown- Deindividuation

TV Show

As part of our initial idea research relating to terrorism and anonymity we watched Derren Brown's series called The Experiments, specifically and an episode called the Gameshow where a crowd wore masks and could have a positive or negative impact on one man's life. It was to highlight deindivuation:

• In trying to explain the behaviour of crowds, contemporary social psychologists refer to deindividuation. Members of crowds feel anonymous and anonymity leads to a decrease in responsibility and loss of inhibitions.
• The phenomenon of deindividuation has been used to explain all kinds of anti-social behaviour, from the lynching carried out by the Ku Klux Klan to the genocide and torture that take place during war. It might also explain how cults operate and why people are prone to extreme behaviour on the internet that is at odds with their offline personality.
  

  

  KKK at an anti-immigration rally.

It happens when people become anonymous members of a crowd, they behave in a way that goes against their morale code and create a mob mentality For example, the KKK could wear hoods and cloaks to disguise their identity and there lose their inhibitions and fear of being identified.

Being part of a crowd, wearing a mask or being in a group can change the way people behave to a massve effect, this could be an important idea to our teaser trailer.