Counternormative Behavior as Influenced by Deindividuating Conditions and Reference Group Salience

Abstract

Summary Predictive discrepancies between reference group theory and the “deindividuation” construct were examined. Major hypotheses were that (a) group rates of counternormative behavior would be higher under dein-dividuating conditions of anonymity than under identifying conditions, (b) rates would be higher when salient reference groups were emphasized than when not, and (c) that rates would be greatest under conditions of dein-dividuation and no reference group salience. Forty-eight college students (24 male, 24 female) between the ages of 18 and 24 who had previously identified personally important on-campus reference groups served as Ss. Students participated in group discussions concerned with marijuana and obscenity where socially inappropriate (i.e., profane) remarks served as the dependent measure of counternormative behavior. Both anonymity and lack of a salient reference group were observed to increase the rate of counternormative behavior significantly. There was a noticeable, although nonsign...