Mira Shan Professor Noah J. Sasson PSY 2301.0W1 02 April 2023 Psychology Response Paper One social psychology process that I have witnessed recently occured in my dormitory, which I have recognized as the bystander effect. There is a student on my floor who is autistic and greatly struggles with social interactions and communication. He does not understand personal boundaries or social cues and thus has become the target for bullying. Many student friend groups will regularly subject this student to teasing and humiliation in public study rooms. But as I have noticed, other students will simply walk past when the autistic student is getting bullied, not willing to speak up for this student. The bystander effect is very apparent in this situation, as the other students most likely are not interviewing due to the fact that no one else is. There is a large student body in our dormitory, so the diffusion of responsibility among the bystanders is larger. Many may hesitate to speak up in fear of social repercussions, or simply assume that someone else will step in to defend him. These bystanders do not believe that they should be the one to stand up for the autistic student because it is not their responsibility and other students are not saying anything, so it is socially acceptable. Another social psychology process I see a lot around me is deindividuation, especially on social media. I have noticed that individuals on many differing social media platforms such as Instagram are more likely to leave cruel, negative, or vulgar comments on posts or uploads. Many of these comments seem very unlikely to ever be said to someone’s face, but are typed without hesitation on social media. I believe there are many factors that are recognized in the theory of deindividuation that can be seen in social media. One such aspect is the option of anonymity, where individuals can hide behind fake usernames and devices. Anonymity allows hateful commenters to say anything with little direct consequence or confrontation. These negative comments only further encourage other commenters to express hateful sentiments for no other purpose other than the sake of being rude, as they likely cannot be recognized outside of the platform. These commenters may think these negative thoughts when interacting with others in person, but do not openly say them in fear of social repercussions. Another aspect is the way that social media dehumanizes individuals. Many platforms are used for people to express their interests and opinions, but this in turn superficially groups individuals into categories. When someone is given a label, such as a certain political leaning, those in opposition feel more compelled to be hurtful or blunt, as they no longer recognize the user as a person, but rather the ‘category’ they are representing.
