After a home victory against Michigan, Ron and his friends leave the stadium in a crowd. As they walked down the street, they pass another group of OSU supporters overturning a car and yelling. Because Ron and his friends are part of a group, they feel anonymous and less responsible for their actions, and they join in. What phenomenon could account for Ron’s behavior?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

As the scenario unfolds, the group context changes how individuals perceive themselves and their actions. 
Option 1: Groupthink — this describes a situation where the desire for harmony or conformity within a group leads to poor or irrational decision-making, often in closed, high-pressure environments. It doesn’t typically involve anonymity or diffusion of responsibility in public violent acts, so it’s a mismatch for this scenario. 
Option 2: Deindividuation — this concept captures the idea that people in a crowd may feel anonymous and less personally accountable, which can lead to impulsive or aggressive behaviors that they wouldn’t engage in alone. The description directly aligns with the diffusion of responsibility and loss of self-awareness within a group. 
Option 3: Social loafing — this refers to individuals putting in less effort when working in a group compared to working alone, due to diffusion of effort. While it explains reduced individual contribution, it doesn’t necessarily explain impulsive, aggressive actions or anonymity in a crowd. 
Option 4: Disinhibition — while related to reduced restraint and increased impulsivity, in psychology this term is broader and often used in contexts like disinhibited behaviors due to intoxication or anonymity. However, the classic, precise label for the given crowd behavior tied to anonymity is deindividuation, making disinhibition a less exact fit for the mechanism described. 
Overall, the best match is the phenomenon where anonymity within a group lowers personal accountability, leading to actions individuals might not perform alone, which fits the suppressible self-regulation described in the crowd context.

PSYCH 3325 AU2025 (37320) Exam 2

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