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Derren Brown Crowd Experiment: A Response from two Social Psychologists
We would like to dispute in the strongest possible terms the theoretical underpinnings and proposed implications from Derren Browncrowd experiment The Gameshow aired on Channel 4 on 28/10/11. Brown second instalment in his series of experiments was designed to show us how being anonymous in a crowd can, in his words, turn perfectly nice people into internet bullies, or rioters, or hooligans. To demonstrate, audience members were led to believe they were participating in a new interactive game show in which the fate of an unwitting member of the public was placed in their hands. The target was a old man who was out for a drink with some friends. Â Along with various actors, the man friends were in on the plan and were in contact with the studio via hidden earpieces.
Throughout the show, the audience were presented with a choice between two scenarios (one positive and one negative) for the man. The severity of the negative outcomes increased throughout the episode, and ranged from being mistakenly charged for an extra round of drinks, to being kidnapped by a gang of thugs. The audience chose the scenario with a negative outcome each time, and for Brown, this was evidence of the moral depravity that inevitably follows anonymity in crowds.
http://nirmukta.com/2011/11/07/derren-brown%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%98crowd-experiment%e2%80%99-a-response-from-two-social-psychologists/
Derren Brown Crowd Experiment: A Response from two Social Psychologists
We would like to dispute in the strongest possible terms the theoretical underpinnings and proposed implications from Derren Browncrowd experiment The Gameshow aired on Channel 4 on 28/10/11. Brown second instalment in his series of experiments was designed to show us how being anonymous in a crowd can, in his words, turn perfectly nice people into internet bullies, or rioters, or hooligans. To demonstrate, audience members were led to believe they were participating in a new interactive game show in which the fate of an unwitting member of the public was placed in their hands. The target was a old man who was out for a drink with some friends. Â Along with various actors, the man friends were in on the plan and were in contact with the studio via hidden earpieces.
Throughout the show, the audience were presented with a choice between two scenarios (one positive and one negative) for the man. The severity of the negative outcomes increased throughout the episode, and ranged from being mistakenly charged for an extra round of drinks, to being kidnapped by a gang of thugs. The audience chose the scenario with a negative outcome each time, and for Brown, this was evidence of the moral depravity that inevitably follows anonymity in crowds.
http://nirmukta.com/2011/11/07/derren-brown%e2%80%99s-%e2%80%98crowd-experiment%e2%80%99-a-response-from-two-social-psychologists/
