The Effects of Motivational Orientation on Deindividuation

Abstract

Three motivational orientations (individualistic, competitive, and coopera-tive) were replicated from Deutsch (1960), and their effects on deindividua-tion in small groups were compared to a control condition. Indices were replicated from other studies of deindividuation, and behavior in the groups was coded in order to analyze the factors of deindividuation. Three factors were extracted, and they were disorganization, cohesion, and egocentrism. Composite indices were constructed, which revealed that deindividuation occurred in the individualistic condition more strongly than in any other condition. Also, while typically the three factors also occurred most strongly in the individualistic condition, cohesion was highest in the cooper-ative group, and egocentrism did not differ between individualistic and competitive conditions. It was noted that, while deindividuation has been conceptualized as the loss of inner restraints, the disorganization factor included indices of both individual and group restraints. It was suggested that research investigate the relationship between internal and external forms of social control.

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