The Effects of Deindividuation on Correctional Officer Identities, Behaviors, Empathy, and Relationships: A Mixed Method Study

One of the most common misconceptions about the prison system is that the structure only affects one party, inmates. It is widely known that within the confinements of the prison system, inmates experience severe physiological and psychological effects, undergoing a process called deindividuation. However, what is not well known is how the other party of the prison system is affected by this process, guards. In this study, a mixed method was used to determine how deindividuation affects guards interpersonal vs intrapersonal relationships. A survey was sent out to a group of correctional officers, asking them questions from four different questionnaires on the four main factors that influence deindividuation, containing both a quantitative and qualitative section to the survey. Despite the contrasting results of the quantitative and qualitative sections, the main conclusion taken away from this study is that deindividuation has a minimal effect on guards behaviors, identities, empathy, and relationships, but not to a strong enough extent to show any clear changes in their survey results.