DEINDIVIDUATION LESSON PLAN

1.  OBJECTIVES

• Define the concept and explain its key psychological features, causes and symptoms
• Identify its origins and associated key researchers
• Apply the concept to group behavior in both historical and modern contexts

2.  STARTER QUESTIONS

Display a blank version of Canva post with JUST the title: https://www.canva.com/design/DAHANmf-IPk/ObovEibGvPaPXXnDTO0nSQ/edit?utm_content=DAHANmf-IPk&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton 

Have students write responses to the following questions:

• What do you believe happens to behavior when people feel anonymous? 
• Why or why not do people behave differently in public vs. in private settings? 
• Does being in a group make people feel more or less responsible for their actions?

Collect responses and let students share before continuing. 

3.  CONCEPT INTRODUCTION 

Now display the original Canva poster with its previously provided content: https://www.canva.com/design/DAHANmf-IPk/ObovEibGvPaPXXnDTO0nSQ/edit?utm_content=DAHANmf-IPk&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link2&utm_source=sharebutton

Introduce deindividuation using your DEFINITION: 

• “An experiential state characterized by loss of self-awareness, altered perceptions, and a reduction of inner restraints that results in the performance of unusual and sometimes antisocial behavior.” –APA Dictionary of Psychology

Ask:

• What stands out most in this definition? 
• Why do any of the listed characterizations matter so much for behavior? 

ORIGINS OF DEINDIVIDUATION 

*Using the Origins section of the Canva poster: 

• Gustave Le Bon (1895): first observed deindividuation in crowd behavior, suggesting that individuals lose personal identity in masses
• Festinger, Pepitone, & Newcomb (1952): coined the term deindividuation, linking group anonymity to reduced self-restraint and awareness
• Philip Zimbardo (1973): popularized the concept through the Stanford Prison Experiment, showing how roles, uniforms and anonymity can rapidly alter behavior

Discussion Prompts:

• Why do you think early psychologists were so interested in crowd behavior?
• Compare OR contrast crowds in the 1800s to ones in the present

CAUSES + SYMPTOMS OF DEINDIVIDUATION
Display the “Causes” slide and review together:

• Sensory overload
• Reduced self-awareness
• Emotional arousal
• Diffusion of responsibility
• Anonymity
• Decreased self-evaluation
• Group size
• Uniformity

Display the “Symptoms” slide and review together: 

• Reduced guilt or shane 

• Impulsive behavior
• Conformity to group norms
• Increased aggression or antisocial behavior

Ask students

• Which causes seem most powerful?
• Which symptoms seem most significant in day-to-day life?

4. MAIN ACTIVITY: APPLYING DEINDIVIDUATION

ACTIVITY #1: MASKED DECISION-MAKING ACTIVITY (Causes, More Active)

1. Divide students into small groups 
2. Each group receives a moral or social decision as a short scenario
   1. An ‘online’ comment on a crazy picture (modern)
   2. How they would ‘protest’ on a controversial topic (combo)
   3. What ‘expected’ meal etiquette looks like (historical)
3. Students must answer accordingly to their applicable prompt

ROUND 1: students respond individually and anonymously 

ROUND 2: students discuss together and submit a collective answer

4. After this, compare and contrast the differences between individual and group decisions. 

ACTIVITY #2: OBSERVED SCENARIO ANALYSIS (Symptoms, Less Active)

1. Show short video clips or describe crowd-involved scenarios (i.e., sports riots, internet trolling, historical mobs
2. Have students identify which deindividuation elements are present per example

5.  HISTORY & REAL-WORLD CONNECTION

Direct students to apply deindividuation to history context:

• Can deindividuation explain behavior during revolutions or major movements?
• How do uniforms or anonymity shape historical events?
• In what way did deindividuation elaborate on group-committed atrocities? 

6.  FINAL REFLECTION

Below, BRIEFLY SCAN at least one of the provided resources and refer to it in a 1-2 paragraph response

• ACADEMIC/PSYCHOLOGICAL THEORY:
  Zimbardo, P.G. (1969). The Human Choice: Individuation, Reason, and Order Versus Deindividuation, Impulse, and Chaos.  
  • Explores how anonymity and reduced self-awareness influence behavior. Forms the modern foundation for deindividuation theory. 
• HISTORICAL APPLICATION
  Browning, C.R. (1992). Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland.
  • Exhibits how initially ordinary individuals can engage in extreme behavior when operating within groups. Due to deindividuation, conformity, and responsibility diffusion.
• MODERN/DIGITAL CONTEXT
  Suler, J. (2004). The Online Disinhibition Effect.
  • A direct connection to deindividuation and online anonymity. Highly relevant to students’ present-day digital experiences and social behavior. 

Respond to the following questions:
*Note:  no need to formally cite readings/references. Simply stating author/study/concept and elaborating on its connection will suffice. 

1. How did today’s lesson help or heighten your understanding of how people behave in group settings?
2. What is one cause or symptom of deindividuation that stood out to you? Why?