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Disputing deindividuation: Why negative group behaviours derive from group norms, not group immersion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 October 2016

Stephen David Reicher ,
Russell Spears ,
Tom Postmes  and
Anna Kende
Stephen David Reicher
Affiliation:
School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews, Fife KY169JP, United Kingdomsdr@st-andrews.ac.ukhttps://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/psychology/people/?mode=profile&group=staff&user_id=sdr
Russell Spears
Affiliation:
Department of Social Psychology, University of Groningen, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlandsr.spears@rug.nlt.postmes@rug.nlhttp://www.rug.nl/staff/r.spears/http://www.rug.nl/staff/t.postmes/
Tom Postmes
Affiliation:
Department of Social Psychology, University of Groningen, 9712 TS Groningen, The Netherlandsr.spears@rug.nlt.postmes@rug.nlhttp://www.rug.nl/staff/r.spears/http://www.rug.nl/staff/t.postmes/
Anna Kende
Affiliation:
Department of Social Psychology, Eotvos Lorand University, 1028 Budapest, Hungary.kende.anna@ppk.elte.hu
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Abstract

Strong social identity does not lead to lack of accountability and “bad” behavior in groups and crowds but rather causes group behavior to be driven by group norms. The solution to problematic group behavior is therefore not to individualize the group but rather to change group norms, as underlined by the relational dynamics widely studied in the SIDE tradition.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 39 , 2016 , e161
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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