Scout scatters the mob: Using To Kill a Mockingbird and Fury to teach the concept of deindividuation

Abstract

Courses: Persuasion, Group Communication, Communication Theory, Computer-Mediated Communication.

Objectives: In this activity, students discuss and analyze film clips in order to understand theories, processes, and applications related to the concept of deindividuation.

Notes

1 Although not seen in the clip, the sheriff fails to dissuade the mob. The jail is burned, but their intended victim escapes.

2 We could not find an online version of the clip that includes Atticus saying this, but you can tell your students it occurs. The DVD version includes it.

3 Anonymity can induce aggression, not because people are unaware of their actions (i.e. deindividuated behavior), but rather because they are less concerned with getting punished (Prentice-Dunn & Rogers, 1982).

4 Although, at one point, the sheriff in Fury shouts, “Think of your families!”