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Myers reports that anonymity can release positive as well as negative impulses

Psychology

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Myers reports that anonymity can release positive as well as negative impulses. Imagine yourself as participants in a study conducted by Gergen, Gergen, and Barton (1973). The psychologist ushers you into a room that is fully lit or totally dark except for a tiny red light over the door so that, if you wish, you can leave at any time. He tells you, “You will be left in the room for no more than an hour with some other people, and there are no rules as to what you should do together. At the end you will leave the room alone and will never meet the other participants.” You then spend the next 60 minutes with seven strangers.

What happens? Those in the lighted room sat around making light conversation. In contrast, participants in the dark talked less, but about more important things. Ninety percent intentionally touched someone and half hugged another. Very few disliked the experience; in fact, most volunteered to return without pay. Anonymity had released intimacy.

1.  How would you explain the results of this study in five or more complete sentences?