PSY220H1 Lecture Notes - Lecture 8: Gustave Le Bon, Murder Of Kitty Genovese, Leon Festinger
Document Summary
Gustav le bon: something about a group brings out the worst in people. Deindividuation: when immersed in a group, become uninhibited. Changes in self-consciousness as the cause of de-individuated behaviors. Immersion in group reduced self-consciousness uninhibited behavior. When individuals felt they were not able to separate themselves from the group, level of resentment was higher. The more negative the comment, the more affiliated the person. Kitty genovese: initially reported that no one came to aid of 28-year old woman stabbed. Truth is many did try to help, story was misreported. Participants told they will be talking about personal problems, talking to a confederate (can only hear, not see) Confederate says they are prone to epileptic seizures, especially when stressed, confederate then begins to have a seizure. Scenarios with different numbers of participants (2, 3, 6) 2 person: 85% responding by end of fit. Didn"t think it was real, didn"t know what to do, sounded fake, etc.
