The paper explores a behavioral paradox which occurs in everyday life: people try to make themselves different and stand out from others, but they also try to minimize their differences and be just like everyone else. The major hypothesis of the study states that people will work to individuate themselves when a positive event is forthcoming in the environment, but will work to deindividuate themselves in the face of an impending negative event. A second hypothesis, in which individuation is both the independent and the dependent variable, states that people who are already in a deindividuated state should have to work harder to make themselves stand out than people who already feel individuated, but should have to work less hard to make themselves anonymous. In contrast, people who are in an individual state should show the reverse pattern. The study also explores the hypothesis that males and females would use different techniques to call attention to themselves, as a result of previously learned sex roles. Subjects for the experiments were 80 university undergraduates; results are analyzed statistically while the ensuing discussion examines the outcomes of the study as they underscore the complexity of the individuation process. References are included. (Author/SES)