What do you think about crowd psychology? Is following the crowd in society really dangerous?

Petter Pan

Transcript

00:00This is a question that has been asked by so many of our subscribers, especially after

00:04our recent video on crowd violence.

00:06So today we're going to take a look at what it is, why it exists, and if we should be

00:11worried about it.

00:13Hi everyone!

00:14Welcome back to our channel where history meets psychology.

00:17Let's get into it.

00:18So this question comes from one of our subscribers who asks, Crowd psychology is real.

00:24How does it work?

00:25This is actually a great question because it gets to the heart of something that a lot

00:29of us have noticed but can't quite put our fingers on.

00:33It's a huge part of our social experience and yet we rarely even acknowledge it.

00:37I mean, how many times have you gone out with friends to a bar or club and you see a group

00:42of people gathered around someone in a circle and they're all staring at their phones laughing

00:47at something and you notice yourself wanting to go over and see what's going on because

00:51you want to be part of it too.

00:53You want to know what's so funny.

00:55Or how about when you're walking down the street and you hear a commotion coming from

00:59a store and you stop and watch the scene unfold even though you don't know anyone involved.

01:04We love to gather in groups and watch other people.

01:08That's just human nature.

01:10But what's interesting is that we also seem to have a tendency to mimic each other's behavior,

01:16especially when we are in a group.

01:18It seems like one person does something and then another joins in and then another and

01:23pretty soon everyone is doing it.

01:25But what makes this really fascinating is that this isn't limited to simple things

01:30like what we're wearing.

01:31It extends to how we think, how we feel and what we do.

01:36In 1999, an American social psychologist named Solomon Ashe conducted an experiment to try

01:42and figure out how group pressure affects our perception of reality.

01:46In this experiment, a subject was shown two cards.

01:50One card had three lines on it of varying lengths.

01:53The second card only had one line on it.

01:55The subject was then asked to match the single line on the second card to the line of equal

02:00length on the first card.

02:02Easy enough, right?

02:03The catch was that the other people in the room were actually actors and they had been

02:07instructed to give obviously incorrect answers.

02:10So, in some rounds, all the actors would say that the shortest line matched the middle

02:14line, even though it was clearly longer.

02:17In other rounds, they would say that the longest line matched the single line, again, obviously.

02:23At first, most subjects refused to go along with it.

02:26They knew the other lines were obviously different lengths, so they picked the one that matched.

02:30But then, something interesting happened.

02:33Over time, more and more subjects started to doubt themselves and began to agree with the

02:37actors that the obviously different lines were actually the same length.

02:41When there were six actors in the room, 32% of subjects conformed to the group's judgment

02:46at least once.

02:48When there were eight actors, that number went up to 65%.

02:52And when there were 12 actors, 81% of subjects gave the wrong answer at least once.

02:58Now this is important because it shows that humans aren't rational beings.

03:03Instead we're social creatures who interpret the world based on what other people

03:07do.

03:08It also demonstrates that crowd psychology is a very real phenomenon.

03:13Crowd psychology is the study of how people behave in groups, particularly how group behavior

03:18differs from individual behavior.

03:20So what Ash showed in his experiment is that people don't always act according to what they

03:25believe to be true.

03:27Instead, they act according to what they think everyone else believes to be true.

03:32And this is at the heart of crowd psychology.

03:35So let's take a look at that now.

03:37So before we can talk about crowd psychology, we have to first define what a crowd is.

03:43A crowd is defined as a collection of people brought together by a common interest or purpose.

03:48This can include anything from a small group of friends hanging out at a party to a massive

03:53horde of strangers who are protesting against their government.

03:56So, while the size of a crowd does not necessarily determine whether or not crowd psychology is

04:01at play, it does make crowd psychology more likely to happen.

04:06Because here's the thing.

04:07The larger the group is, the less personal responsibility people feel for their actions.

04:13When you are in a crowd, there is a dilution of accountability.

04:17After all, no one can really see you that well.

04:20There are so many faces and voices, it can be hard to keep track of them all.

04:24And as Gustave Le Bon, a 19th century French social psychologist wrote, the most essential

04:30and most powerful factor in a crowd is that it is an organized group of individual men who

04:35have given themselves over to a common impulse.

04:39This common impulse is what drives crowd psychology.

04:42It is the belief that the group holds as a whole.

04:45Now, this is important because the beliefs that a group holds can be either positive or

04:50negative.

04:51For example, a crowd gathered at a football game might share a belief that their team

04:55is going to win.

04:56This could lead to positive behaviors, such as cheering loudly and hugging each other when

05:01their team scores.

05:02On the other hand, a crowd gathered at a protest might share a belief that the government is

05:07corrupt.

05:08This could lead to negative behaviors, such as throwing rocks and burning

05:12buildings.

05:13Either way, the point is that the beliefs of the group, not the beliefs of the individual,

05:18dictate how crowd psychology works.

05:21So now that we understand the basics of crowd psychology, the next question is, should we

05:26be worried about it?

05:27Well, the short answer is yes and no.

05:30Crowd psychology can be a dangerous thing when it leads to groupthink and mob mentality.

05:35Groupthink occurs when the desire for harmony or conformity in a group results in an irrational

05:40or dysfunctional decision-making outcome.

05:43Mob mentality refers to the psychological state of a group of people who have become emotionally

05:48charged and are acting irrationally.

05:51Both of these can lead to dangerous behaviors, such as the Salem Witch Trials, the French Revolution,

05:57or you know, those angry mobs that stormed government buildings on January 6th, 2021.

06:02However, crowd psychology can also be a positive force.

06:07It can lead to collective action towards positive goals, such as social change or environmental

06:12protection.

06:13Really, it all depends on what the group believes.

06:16So now let's take a closer look at the darker side of crowd psychology.

06:20Why do people join crowds?

06:21Well, there are a lot of different reasons.

06:25Sometimes people join crowds because they feel anonymous and therefore less accountable for

06:29their actions.

06:31Other times, people join crowds because they are excited by the energy of the group.

06:36And sometimes people join crowds because they want to be part of something bigger than themselves.

06:41Whatever the reason, when people join crowds, they often lose sight of their individual identity

06:46and instead focus on the identity of the group.

06:49This is called deindividuation.

06:51Deindividuation is a psychological state in which people lose their sense of self-awareness

06:56and personal responsibility.

06:59This is what allows crowd psychology to take hold.

07:02When people are deindividuated, they are more likely to engage in impulsive and sometimes

07:07destructive behavior.

07:09This is because when people are deindividuated, they don't feel like they have to worry about

07:13what other people think of them.

07:15They don't feel like they have to maintain a positive self-image.

07:19They don't have to be polite or respectful.

07:21They can just do whatever they want.

07:23In a study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2000, researchers found

07:28that deindividuation increased aggression in a group setting.

07:32They did this by having subjects play a computer game against other subjects.

07:36Some subjects played under their real name and others played anonymously.

07:40The researchers found that subjects who played anonymously were more likely to cheat and be

07:45aggressive towards their opponents.

07:47Deindividuation can also lead to risky behavior.

07:50In a study published in Human Relations in 1999, researchers found that subjects were more

07:56likely to take risks when they were in a group and deindividuated than when they were alone

08:00and individuated.

08:02They did this by having subjects complete a questionnaire that measured their willingness to take risks.

08:08Subjects were also asked to rate how anonymous they felt while completing the questionnaire.

08:13The researchers found that subjects who felt more anonymous were more willing to take risks.

08:17So essentially what I'm trying to say is that crowd psychology can be dangerous, really dangerous.

08:24And maybe you've seen this firsthand or maybe you've experienced it.

08:27Maybe you've been swept up in the excitement of a large crowd and done something that you

08:31wouldn't normally do.

08:33Maybe you've gotten caught up in groupthink and made a decision that you later regretted.

08:38But the good news is that crowd psychology can also be a positive force.

08:43And maybe you've experienced that too.

08:46Maybe you've been part of a crowd that cheered loudly at a football game or a concert.

08:51Maybe you've been part of a crowd that came together to help someone in need.

08:55Secondly, crowd psychology is neither good nor bad.

08:59It all depends on what the group believes and how the individuals within the group behave.

09:04So what do you think about crowd psychology?

09:07Have you ever experienced it?

09:08Do you think it's more dangerous than we realize?

09:11Share your thoughts in the comments below.

09:13And if you enjoyed this video, please leave us a like and subscribe to our channel for more

09:17content.

09:18Thanks for watching.

09:19See you next time.

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