Depersonalization

Depersonalization is a vitally important concept with an unfortunate name. Depersonalization does not refer to a loss of self but to a change in the self at a particular time, that is, from seeing oneself as an individual with individual attributes, opinions, and so on to seeing oneself as a group member who shares attributes, opinions, and indeed a social identity and is therefore in these ways identical to or interchangeable with fellow group members. Depersonalization is thus very different from the concept of deindividuation developed by Philip Zimbardo and colleagues, which involves a loss of individuality, or to the concept of dehumanization, which relates to perceptions of other people as nonpeople. This entry describes the process and provides some examples.