Discharged in D.C.: The role of disinhibition in the behavior of insurrection group members.

Objective: We use the motivational systems theory of group involvement to explain aspects of the insurrection that occurred on January 6, 2021.Method: Drawing from existing literature, we explain why group involvement is likely to induce perceptions of "safety in numbers" and "strength in numbers."We further describe why these states are theorized to intensify group members' perceived sense of entitlement and their subsequent desires to attain power, status, and resources. Results:The motivational systems theory of group involvement framework explains how group membership and interaction can reduce inhibitions and avoidance motivation, while simultaneously intensifying motivational tendencies associated with an approach orientation.Conclusions: This theory paper explains why people in groups are more likely than individuals to be disinhibited during their pursuit of power and pleasure, leading members of insurrectionist groups to be especially impulsive, reckless, and violent. Highlights and Implications A framework called the motivational systems theory of group involvement describes how and why group contexts are expected to produce motivational differences between group members and lone individuals (Park & Hinsz, 2006)  Group contexts often lead people to seek rewards, decrease threat perceptions, and lead to disinhibition among unified group members (e.g., Hinsz et al., 2019)  The theoretical framework describes how group involvement can lead people to think, feel, and act in ways that differ from lone individuals due to the strength and safety such contexts provide. Although the strength and safety associated with groups can be a wellspring of innovation, justice, and compassionate social change, these same aspects of groups can also lead to levels of hate and destruction that individuals cannot match.