Master the Mind! 2026 AP Psychology Lingo Challenge – Elevate Your Terminology Game!

Deindividuation is the loss of self-awareness and self-restraint in group settings that foster arousal and anonymity. When people are in a crowd, they feel less identifiable and watched as individuals, while the group's energy and attention can heighten arousal. This combination reduces self-evaluation and concern about others’ judgments, making individuals more likely to go along with the group’s impulsive or disinhibited norms and act in ways they wouldn’t on their own. For example, people may engage in reckless acts or vandalism in mobs because the anonymity and excitement dissolve personal restraints. Other concepts don’t fit as well: diffusion of responsibility refers to sharing accountability, social facilitation to performance changes in the presence of others, and group polarization to attitudes becoming more extreme after group discussion.