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Crowd Psychology - Wikipedia
Crowd Psychology - Wikipedia
Crowd psychology
Crowd psychology, also known as mob psychology, is a branch of
social psychology. Social psychologists have developed several theories for
explaining the ways in which the psychology of a crowd differs from and
interacts with that of the individuals within it. Major theorists in crowd
psychology include Gustave Le Bon, Gabriel Tarde, Sigmund Freud, and
Steve Reicher. This field relates to the behaviors and thought processes of
both the individual crowd members and the crowd as an entity.[1] Crowd
A crowd
behavior is heavily influenced by the loss of responsibility of the individual
and the impression of universality of behavior, both of which increase with
crowd size.[2][3]
Contents
Origins
Types of crowds
Theoretical perspectives
Gustave Le Bon
Freudian theory
Deindividuation theory
Convergence theory
Emergent norm theory
Social identity theory
See also
References
Further reading
External links
Origins
The psychological study of crowd phenomena was documented decades prior to 1900 as European culture was imbued
with thoughts of the fin de siècle. This "modern" urban culture perceived that they were living in a new and different
age. They witnessed marvelous new inventions and experienced life in new ways. The population, now living in
densely packed, industrialized cities, such as Milan and Paris, witnessed the development of the light bulb, radio,
photography, moving-picture shows, the telegraph, the bicycle, the telephone, and the railroad system. They
experienced a faster pace of life and viewed human life as segmented, so they designated each of these phases of life
with a new name. They created new concepts like "the Adolescent," "Kindergarten," "the Vacation," "camping in
Nature," "the 5-minute segment," and "Travel for the sake of pleasure" as a leisure class to describe these new ways of
life.
Likewise, the abstract concept of "the Crowd" grew as a new phenomenon simultaneously in Paris, France, and Milan,
the largest city in the Kingdom of Italy. Legal reformers motivated by Darwin's evolutionary theory, particularly in the
Kingdom of Italy, argued that the social and legal systems of Europe had been founded on antiquated notions of
natural reason, or Christian morality, and ignored the irrevocable biology laws of human nature. Their goal was to
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bring social laws into harmony with biological laws. In pursuit of this goal, they developed the social science of
criminal anthropology, which is tasked with the mission of changing the emphasis from one of the study of legal
procedures to one of studying the criminal.
"Criminal anthropology," writes Giuseppe Sergi, "studies the delinquent in his natural place, that is to say, in the field
of biology and pathology".[4][5] The Italian Cesare Lombroso, professor of forensic medicine and hygiene in Turin,
greatly advanced their agenda in 1878, when he published L'uomo delinquente, a highly influential book which went
through five editions. The book, published in English in 1900 under the title "Criminal Man," solidified the links
between social evolutionary theories and the fear of crowds with its concept of the "born" criminal as the savage in the
midst of civilized society. The book influenced both European and American legal experts interested in assigning
responsibility to individuals performing dubious behavior while engaged within a crowd.
The first debate in crowd psychology began in Rome at the first International Congress of Criminal Anthropology on
16 November 1885. The meeting was dominated by Cesare Lombroso and his fellow Italians who emphasized the
biological determinates.
"Lombroso detailed before the first congress his theories of the physical anomalies of
criminals and his classification of criminals as 'born criminals', or criminals by occasion and
mattoids. Ferri expressed his view of crime as degeneration more profound than insanity, for
in most insane persons the primitive moral sense has survived the wreck of their intelligence.
Along similar lines were the remarks of Benedickt, Sergi and Marro."
A weak response was offered by the French, who put forward an environmental theory of human psychology.
"M. Anguilli called attention to the importance of the influence of the social environment upon
crime. Professor Alexandre Lacassagne thought that the atavistic and degenerative theories
as held by the Italian school were exaggerations and false interpretations of the facts, and
that the important factor was the social environment."[6]
In Paris during 10–17 August 1889, the Italian school received a stronger rebuke of their biological theories during the
2nd International Congress of Criminal Anthropology. A radical divergence in the views between the Italian and the
French schools was reflected in the proceedings.
"Professor Lombroso laid stress upon epilepsy in connection with his theory of the 'born
criminal.' Professor Léonce Pierre Manouvrier characterized Lombroso's theory as nothing
but the exploded science of phrenology. The anomalies observed by Lombroso were met
with in honest men as well as criminals, Manouvrier claimed, and there is no physical
difference between them. Baron Raffaele Garofalo, Drill, Alexandre Lacassagne and
Benedikt opposed Lombroso's theories in whole or in part. Pugliese found the cause of crime
in the failure of the criminal to adapt himself to his social surroundings, and Benedikt, with
whom Tarde agreed, held that physical defects were not marks of the criminal qua
criminal."[7] It is in this context that you have a debate between Scipio Sighele, an Italian
lawyer and Gabriel Tarde, a French magistrate on how to determine criminal responsibility in
the crowd and hence who to arrest. (Sighele, 1892; Tarde, 1890, 1892, 1901)[6]
Literature on crowds and crowd behavior appeared as early as 1841, with the publication of Charles Mackay's book
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds.[8] The attitude towards crowds underwent an
adjustment with the publication of Hippolyte Taine's six-volume tome The Origins of Contemporary France (1875). In
particular Taine's work helped to change the opinions of his contemporaries on the actions taken by the crowds during
the 1789 Revolution. Many Europeans held him in great esteem. While it is difficult to directly link his works to crowd
behavior, it may be said that his thoughts stimulated further study of crowd behavior. However, it was not until the
latter half of the 19th century that scientific interest in the field gained momentum. French physician and
anthropologist Gustave Le Bon became its most-influential theorist.[1][9][10][11]
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Types of crowds
There is limited research into the types of crowd and crowd membership and there is no consensus as to the
classification of types of crowds. Two recent scholars, Momboisse (1967)[12] and Berlonghi (1995)[13] focused upon
purpose of existence to differentiate among crowds. Momboisse developed a system of four types: casual,
conventional, expressive, and aggressive. Berlonghi classified crowds as spectator, demonstrator, or escaping, to
correlate to the purpose for gathering.
Another approach to classifying crowds is sociologist Herbert Blumer's system of emotional intensity. He distinguishes
four types of crowds: casual, conventional, expressive, and acting. His system is dynamic in nature. That is, a crowd
changes its level of emotional intensity over time, and therefore, can be classed in any one of the four types.
Generally, researchers in crowd psychology have focused on the negative aspects of crowds,[9] but not all crowds are
volatile or negative in nature. For example, in the beginning of the socialist movement crowds were asked to put on
their Sunday dress and march silently down the street. A more-modern example involves the sit-ins during the Civil
Rights Movement. Crowds can reflect and challenge the held ideologies of their sociocultural environment. They can
also serve integrative social functions, creating temporary communities.[2][9]
Crowds can be active (mobs) or passive (audiences). Active crowds can be further divided into aggressive, escapist,
acquisitive, or expressive mobs.[2] Aggressive mobs are often violent and outwardly focused. Examples are football
riots and the L.A. Riots of 1992. Escapist mobs are characterized by a large number of panicked people trying to get
out of a dangerous situation. Acquisitive mobs occur when large numbers of people are fighting for limited resources.
An expressive mob is any other large group of people gathering for an active purpose. Civil disobedience, rock
concerts, and religious revivals all fall under this category.[2]
Theoretical perspectives
Gustave Le Bon
Le Bon held that crowds existed in three stages: submergence, contagion, and suggestion.[9] During submergence, the
individuals in the crowd lose their sense of individual self and personal responsibility. This is quite heavily induced by
the anonymity of the crowd.[9] Contagion refers to the propensity for individuals in a crowd to unquestioningly follow
the predominant ideas and emotions of the crowd. In Le Bon's view, this effect is capable of spreading between
"submerged" individuals much like a disease.[2] Suggestion refers to the period in which the ideas and emotions of the
crowd are primarily drawn from a shared racial unconscious. This behavior comes from an archaic shared unconscious
and is therefore uncivilized in nature. It is limited by the moral and cognitive abilities of the least capable members.[8]
Le Bon believed that crowds could be a powerful force only for destruction.[9] Additionally, Le Bon and others have
indicated that crowd members feel a lessened sense of legal culpability, due to the difficulty in prosecuting individual
members of a mob.[2]
Le Bon's idea that crowds foster anonymity and generate emotion has been contested by some critics. Clark McPhail
points out studies which show that "the madding crowd" does not take on a life of its own, apart from the thoughts and
intentions of members.[14] Norris Johnson, after investigating a panic at a 1979 The Who concert concluded that the
crowd was composed of many small groups of people mostly trying to help each other. Additionally, Le Bon's theory
ignores the socio-cultural context of the crowd, which some theorists argue can disempower social change.[9] R. Brown
disputes the assumption that crowds are homogenous, suggesting instead that participants exist on a continuum,
differing in their ability to deviate from social norms.[2]
Freudian theory
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Sigmund Freud's crowd behavior theory primarily consists of the idea that becoming a member of a crowd serves to
unlock the unconscious mind. This occurs because the super-ego, or moral center of consciousness, is displaced by the
larger crowd, to be replaced by a charismatic crowd leader. McDougall argues similarly to Freud, saying that simplistic
emotions are widespread, and complex emotions are rarer. In a crowd, the overall shared emotional experience reverts
to the least common denominator (LCD), leading to primitive levels of emotional expression.[1] This organizational
structure is that of the "primal horde" – pre-civilized society - and Freud states that one must rebel against the leader
(re-instate the individual morality) in order to escape from it.[1] Moscovici expanded on this idea, discussing how
dictators such as Mao Zedong and Joseph Stalin have used mass psychology to place themselves in this "horde leader"
position.[10]
Theodor Adorno criticized the belief in a spontaneity of the masses: according to him, the masses were an artificial
product of "administrated" modern life. The Ego of the bourgeois subject dissolved itself, giving way to the Id and the
"de-psychologized" subject. Furthermore, Adorno stated the bond linking the masses to the leader through the
spectacle is feigned:
"When the leaders become conscious of mass psychology and take it into their own hands, it ceases to
exist in a certain sense. ... Just as little as people believe in the depth of their hearts that the Jews are the
devil, do they completely believe in their leader. They do not really identify themselves with him but act
this identification, perform their own enthusiasm, and thus participate in their leader's performance. ...
It is probably the suspicion of this fictitiousness of their own 'group psychology' which makes fascist
crowds so merciless and unapproachable. If they would stop to reason for a second, the whole
performance would go to pieces, and they would be left to panic."[15]
Deindividuation theory
Deindividuation theory argues that in typical crowd situations, factors such as anonymity, group unity, and arousal
can weaken personal controls (e.g. guilt, shame, self-evaluating behavior) by distancing people from their personal
identities and reducing their concern for social evaluation.[1][9] This lack of restraint increases individual sensitivity to
the environment and lessens rational forethought, which can lead to antisocial behavior.[1][9] More recent theories
have stated that deindividuation hinges upon a person being unable, due to situation, to have strong awareness of
their self as an object of attention. This lack of attention frees the individual from the necessity of normal social
behavior.[1]
American social psychologist Leon Festinger and colleagues first elaborated the concept of deindividuation in 1952. It
was further refined by American psychologist Philip Zimbardo, who detailed why mental input and output became
blurred by such factors as anonymity, lack of social constraints, and sensory overload.[16] Zimbardo's famous Stanford
Prison Experiment is a strong argument for the power of deindividuation.[1] Further experimentation has had mixed
results when it comes to aggressive behaviors, and has instead shown that the normative expectations surrounding the
situations of deindividuation influence behavior (i.e. if one is deindividuated as a KKK member, aggression increases,
but if it is as a nurse, aggression does not increase).[1]
A further distinction has been proposed between public and private deindividuation. When private aspects of self are
weakened, one becomes more subject to crowd impulses, but not necessarily in a negative way. It is when one no
longer attends to the public reaction and judgement of individual behavior that antisocial behavior is elicited.[1]
Convergence theory
Convergence theory[17] holds that crowd behavior is not a product of the crowd, but rather the crowd is a product of
the coming together of like-minded individuals.[2][9] Floyd Allport argued that "An individual in a crowd behaves just
as he would behave alone, only more so."[18] Convergence theory holds that crowds form from people of similar
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dispositions, whose actions are then reinforced and intensified by the crowd.[9]
Convergence theory claims that crowd behavior is not irrational; rather, people in crowds express existing beliefs and
values so that the mob reaction is the rational product of widespread popular feeling. However, this theory is
questioned by certain research which found that people involved in the 1970s riots were less likely than nonparticipant
peers to have previous convictions.[9]
Critics of this theory report that it still excludes the social determination of self and action, in that it argues that all
actions of the crowd are born from the individuals' intents.[9]
Key members are identified through distinctive personalities or behaviors. These garner attention, and the lack of
negative response elicited from the crowd as a whole stands as tacit agreement to their legitimacy.[1] The followers
form the majority of the mob, as people tend to be creatures of conformity who are heavily influenced by the opinions
of others.[8] This has been shown in the conformity studies conducted by Sherif and Asch.[19] Crowd members are
further convinced by the universality phenomenon, described by Allport as the persuasive tendency of the idea that if
everyone in the mob is acting in such-and-such a way, then it cannot be wrong.[2]
Emergent norm theory allows for both positive and negative mob types, as the distinctive characteristics and behaviors
of key figures can be positive or negative in nature. An antisocial leader can incite violent action, but an influential
voice of non-violence in a crowd can lead to a mass sit-in.[1] When a crowd described as above targets an individual,
anti-social behaviors may emerge within its members.
A major criticism of this theory is that the formation and following of new norms indicates a level of self-awareness
that is often missing in the individuals in crowds (as evidenced by the study of deindividuation). Another criticism is
that the idea of emergent norms fails to take into account the presence of existent sociocultural norms.[1][9]
Additionally, the theory fails to explain why certain suggestions or individuals rise to normative status while others do
not.[9]
This influence is evidenced by findings that when the stated purpose and values of a group changes, the values and
motives of its members also change.[19]
Crowds are an amalgam of individuals, all of whom belong to various overlapping groups. However, if the crowd is
primarily related to some identifiable group (such as Christians or Hindus or Muslims or civil-rights activists), then
the values of that group will dictate the crowd's action.[9]
In crowds which are more ambiguous, individuals will assume a new social identity as a member of the crowd.[1] This
group membership is made more salient by confrontation with other groups - a relatively common occurrence for
crowds.[1]
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The group identity serves to create a set of standards for behavior; for certain groups violence is legitimate, for others
it is unacceptable.[1] This standard is formed from stated values, but also from the actions of others in the crowd, and
sometimes from a few in leadership-type positions.[1]
A concern with this theory is that while it explains how crowds reflect social ideas and prevailing attitudes, it does not
explain the mechanisms by which crowds enact to drive social change.[9]
See also
Bystander effect
Charisma
Class consciousness
Collective behavior
Collective hysteria
Collective consciousness
Collective unconscious
Communal reinforcement
Conformity (psychology)
Crowd manipulation
Crowds and Power
The Wisdom of Crowds
Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds
Group behaviour
Groupthink
Herd behavior
Herd mentality
The Mass Psychology of Fascism
Mass society
Religious paranoia
Riot
Volksgeist ("Spirit of the People")
Wilfred Trotter
References
1. Manstead, ASK; Hewstone, Miles (1996). Blackwell Encyclopedia of Social Psychology. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
pp. 152–156. ISBN 978-0-631-20289-9.
2. Greenberg, M.S. (2010). Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology.
3. Toch, Hans (1988). "Psychology of Crowds Revisited". Contemporary Psychology. 33 (11): 954.
4. Zimmern, Hellen. "Criminal Anthropology in Italy".
5. Popular Science Monthly. Volume 52. April 1898. p. 744.
6. Reicher, Stephen. "The Psychology of Crowd Dynamics", Blackwell Handbook of Social Psychology: Group
Processes. ed. Michael A. Hogg & R. Scott Tindale. Blackwell Publishers Inc. Malden, Mass. page 185.
7. "The International Congress of Criminal Anthropology: A Review" (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1133200).
Author(s): Edward Lindsey, Source: Journal of the American Institute of Criminal Law and Criminology, Vol. 1, No.
4 (Nov., 1910), pp. 578–583. Northwestern University. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
8. Forsyth, D.R. (2012). Handbook of Psychology (Second ed.).
9. Reicher, Stephen (2000). Alan E. Kazdin, editor in chief (ed.). Encyclopedia of psychology. Washington, D.C.:
American Psychological Association. pp. 374–377. ISBN 1-55798-650-9.
10. Triandis, H.C. (1987). "Theoretical Framework for Mass Psychology". Contemporary Psychology. 32 (2): 123–
124.
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11. Nye, R.A. (1975). The origins of crowd psychology. London: Sage. Barrows, Susanna (1981). "Distorting mirrors –
Visions of the crowd". New Haven: Yale University Press. Van Ginneken, Jaap (1992). Crowds, psychology and
politics 1871–1899. New York: Cambridge University Press.
12. Momboisse, Raymond. Riots, Revolts, and Insurrection. Springfield, Ill. Charles Thomas. 1967.
13. Berlonghi, Alexander E. "Understanding and planning for different spectator crowds". Safety Science. Volume 18,
Number 4, February 1995, pp. 239–247
14. McPhail, C. (1991). The myth of the madding crowd. New York: Aldine de Gruyter.
15. T. W. Adorno, "Freudian Theory and the Pattern of Fascist Propaganda." In Vol. III of Psychoanalysis and the
Social Sciences. Ed. Géza Roheim. New York: International Universities Press, 1951, pp. 408–433. Reprinted in
Vol. VIII of Gesammelte Schriften. Frankfurt: Suhrkamp Verlag, 1975, and in The Culture Industry: Selected
Essays on Mass Culture. Ed. J. M. Berstein. London: Routledge, 1991.
16. Zimbardo, Philip (1969). "The human choice – Individuation, reason and order versus Deindividuation, impulse
and chaos". Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, Vol. 17, pp. 237–307.
17. "What is Crowd Psychology?" (http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-crowd-psychology.htm). wisegeek.com.
Retrieved 29 July 2012.
18. Allport, Floyd (1924). Social Psychology. Boston. p. 295.
19. Guilford, J.P. (1966). Fields of Psychology (Third ed.). Princeton, NJ.: D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc. pp. 192–
205.
Further reading
Borch, Christian. The Politics of Crowds: An Alternative History of Sociology. Cambridge University Press 2012,
ISBN 978-1-107-62546-4
Buford, Bill. Among the Thugs: The Experience, and the Seduction, of Crowd Violence. New York, NY: W. W.
Norton & Co., Inc. (1990)
Canetti, Elias (1960). Crowds and Power. Viking Adult. ISBN 0-670-24999-8.
Challenger, R., Clegg, C. W., & Robinson, M. A. (2009). Understanding crowd behaviours. Multi-volume report for
the UK Government's Cabinet Office. London: Cabinet Office. http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/resource-
library/understanding-crowd-behaviours-documents
Johnson, Norris R. "Panic at 'The Who Concert Stampede': An Empirical Assessment." Social Problems. Vol. 34,
No. 4 (October 1987): 362–373.
Le Bon, Gustave (1895) Psychology of Crowds. [Improved edition www.sparklingbooks.com.]
Le Bon, Gustave (1895). "The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind" (http://onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/webbin/
gutbook/lookup?num=445). Retrieved 15 November 2005.
Mackay, Charles (1841). Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds. Wordsworth Editions.
ISBN 1-85326-349-4.
Martin, Everett Dean, The Behavior of Crowds, A Psychological Study, Harper & Brothers Publishers, New York,
1920.
Mc Phail, Clark, The Myth of the Madding Crowd, New York, Aldine de Gruyter, 1991.
Moscovici, Serge
External links
Dr. J. P van de Sande, On Crowds (Dutch and English) (http://www.vandesandeinlezingen.nl/serv03.htm)
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