Crowd Behaviour Flashcards
Characteristics of a crowd
- face-to-face
- novel situation
- act as one
- no formal means of decision-making
Group Mind theories
Theories of Crowd Behaviour (1)
e.g. Le Bon (racist)
primordial, collective unconscious; submerged in crowd, lose all rationality/self, common behaviour spreads by ‘contagion’
issues:
* assumptions - assumes violence, cannot explain non-violent crowds
* lack of evidence - reliance on secondary/selective data (e.g. accounts of the French Revolution) and crowd-behaviour taken out of context (e.g. self-defence)
De-individuation theory; Postmes and Spears (1998) - weak evidence for anonymity and societally non-normative behaviour; strong evidence for anonymity and non-conformity
Group Norms Theory
Theories of Crowd Behaviour (2)
Gestalt approach; person gains identity from being in a group
Sherif; groups create norms, individuals use norms to define reality and act
Emergent Norm Theory (Turner & Killian, 1937)
* in extraordinary situations, people interact so a dominant norm arises which allows people to act as one
* evidenced by Sherif’s autokinetic effect study
* rejects the irrationalist approach of ‘mob mentality’
minimal conditions for intergroup behaviour –> Tajfel
Self-categorisation Theory (Turner, 1987)
Theories of Crowd Behaviour (3)
Key Principles
* 1. cognitive representations of the self take the form of self-categories
* 2. exist at different levels of abstraction (exclusive –> inclusive)
* 3. salience of categories operates through fit x perceiver readiness
evidence from the 7/7 London Bombings
interviews with survivors;
- initially no sense of unity - meta-contract is ‘me’ vs ‘other individuals’
- after bomb, rich vocab of unity - meta-contract is ‘us’ vs ‘bomb blast’
- social influence operates through shared self-categories
more likely to spread in ingroup
most influential are prototypes (most embody our values relative to other groups)
- social influence operates through shared self-categories
Riots: St Paul’s Riot
- confrontation between community and police
- police left district, crowd took control, stopping potential police cars, some looting
Reicher (1984; 1987)
gathered wide variety of interviews, media items etc. to create an account of what happened; thematic analysis of participation
* shared self-categorisation (members of St Paul’s community)
* crowd behaviour reflected identity
- did not go outside St Paul’s area
- specific targets (police, snitching journalists)
- specific properties (banks, shops owned by outsiders, disapproved when bus was stoned)
- only those who shared identity got involved (prototypical most influential)
> Le Bon would predict mindless violence; would not be able to explain the limits in behaviour or the particular behaviours/prototype influence
> Group norms: normatively structured behaviour, BUT group norms arose quickly (no need for extended interaction) AND new situational norms constrainted by superordinate social category definition
> Self-cat:
Cognitive Transformations
Transformations of Crowd Psychology (1/3)
self-stereotyping
shift from seeing self in terms of personal identity to social identity
individuals no longer think and act in accordance with personal/idiosyncratic values, but with group’s
e.g. football match norms (if identify)
e.g. collective behaviour in St Paul’s riot limited and patterend in accordance with the social identity shared by the participants (St Paul’s residents); so targeted only police, banks, chain shops, NOT local shops and houses
Relational Transformations
Transformations of Crowd Psychology (2/3)
If individuals have the same social identity, they start to see the other as part of ‘we’ instead of ‘other’ (sharing social identity)
can result in sense of connection/intimacy even with strangers!
Reicher et al. (2016) - less disgust at others’ bodily odours (more time smelling odorous tshirt)
Novelli et al. (2010) - more acceptance and enjoyment of others’ close physical presence (willing to sit closer)
Affective Transformations
Transformations of Crowd Psychology (3/3)
Social identity as prism through which we experience events and relational intimacy
emotional consequences:
* being supported by others feels good
* sense of empowerment feels good
* validation of emotions by others in group intensifies them
Mass gatherings
WHO (2008) definition: an occasion where the number of people attending is sufficient enough to strain the resources of the host community/city/country
e.g. Hajj
* inspired ‘mass gathering medicine’ to stop infectious diseases and crowd crushes
* however crowd crushes during Hajj very rare despite the extreme density
* media portrays crowd crushes as ‘stampedes’ and a result of panic; however crowd is usually non-moving, (caused by crowd collapse due to extreme density) and the panic is typically a consequence
Wellbeing from mass gathering
e.g. Magh Mela; 20 million in tents for 1 month
Tewari et al. (2012) longitudinal survey, measured wellbeing and found those who attended reported much better health than those who didn’t
e.g. music activities
Dingle et al. (2021) review of 63 studies, found social bonding and connection mechanisms when enjoying music with others
= features of relational/affective transformation may contribute to health and wellbeing (expecting/receiving support, positive emotions, validation, sense of empowerment)
Relational transformations at the Mela
Hopkins et al. (2019) - semi-structured interviews, representative sample.
thematic analysis:
* shared social identity
* recognition of others as fellow pilgrims and using this to appraise their behaviour differently
* validation of beliefs by so many others being there for same purpose, confirmation of faith
* solidarity/support; disappointment when support not given implicates an expectation
Long-term psychological changes
e..g Malcolm X (1965) describing how pilgrimage to Mecca changed him; experience of the “brotherhood of all men”
Cllingingsmith et al. (2009) - Pakistan’s lottery for Hajj attendance; surveyed entrees (50% winners, 50% losers)
attendance of Hajj:
* greater commitment to Muslim identity after
* more positive towards other groups
* more favourable attitudes to women
* greater belief in equality
but did not investigate mechanisms; speculation that intergroup contact was responsible
Khan et al. (2016) - Mela attendees vs matched sample
* stronger social identification as Hindu
* greater frequency of prayer rituals
* mechanisms: perception of sharing common identity with other pilgrims + ability to enact own social identity
Alnabusi et al. (2019) - survey of Hajj pilgrims, 72 countries
* perceived cooperation increases identification with the crowd, which increases positive attitudes towards outgroups
Caveats of transformations/mass gatherings and health
- positive effects not found in every crowd; e.g. shopping crowds; are norms of crowd competitive or cooperative?
- high levels of trust and proximity are strongly associated with risk of spreading infectious disease
