Anonymity in crowd behaviour
Explain the place of anonymity in theories of crowd behaviour. Is it always associated with a ‘loss of self’?
Crowd behaviour has long been a point of interest for social psychologists. Psychologists have looked at how people exhibit different behaviours when they are part of a crowd. The anonymity of a crowd allows people to assume a mask which permits them to behave in a manner which is untypical for them. This can be demonstrated in both negative and positive roles, such as people rioting in a mob, as well as fans cheering for their football team. Both of these may not be characteristic behaviours for the individual, but have been spurred on by the collective behaviour of the crowd. Crowd behaviour can have tremendous political, social and practical ramifications, as evidenced from the enormous power mass protests can wield. Le Bon (1895) was the first person to introduce the concept of a ‘group mind’. His work came under much criticism, but it influenced social psychology in many ways, with later deindividuation theorists building on his work, as well as the social identity theory viewing crowd behaviour from another aspect. This essay aims to evaluate if anonymity in crowds is associated with a ‘loss of self’ according to all of the above perspectives. (Dixon & Mahendran 2012)
Le Bon’s (1895) paper was a groundbreaking text in discussing crowd behaviours. Le Bon did not like crowds, and viewed them as primarily regressive in nature. He believed that an individual’s rationality is lost in crowds and people act impulsively. Le Bon claimed that crowds exert enormous power over the individual and their behaviours become submerged by the ‘group mind’. This causes them to regress to an animalistic state where they experience their unconscious aggressive instincts. Le Bon argued that crowds allow members to feel anonymous, and thus less personally responsible for their actions. Le Bon named this process contagion which is the propensity of
Crowd behaviour has long been a point of interest for social psychologists. Psychologists have looked at how people exhibit different behaviours when they are part of a crowd. The anonymity of a crowd allows people to assume a mask which permits them to behave in a manner which is untypical for them. This can be demonstrated in both negative and positive roles, such as people rioting in a mob, as well as fans cheering for their football team. Both of these may not be characteristic behaviours for the individual, but have been spurred on by the collective behaviour of the crowd. Crowd behaviour can have tremendous political, social and practical ramifications, as evidenced from the enormous power mass protests can wield. Le Bon (1895) was the first person to introduce the concept of a ‘group mind’. His work came under much criticism, but it influenced social psychology in many ways, with later deindividuation theorists building on his work, as well as the social identity theory viewing crowd behaviour from another aspect. This essay aims to evaluate if anonymity in crowds is associated with a ‘loss of self’ according to all of the above perspectives. (Dixon & Mahendran 2012)
Le Bon’s (1895) paper was a groundbreaking text in discussing crowd behaviours. Le Bon did not like crowds, and viewed them as primarily regressive in nature. He believed that an individual’s rationality is lost in crowds and people act impulsively. Le Bon claimed that crowds exert enormous power over the individual and their behaviours become submerged by the ‘group mind’. This causes them to regress to an animalistic state where they experience their unconscious aggressive instincts. Le Bon argued that crowds allow members to feel anonymous, and thus less personally responsible for their actions. Le Bon named this process contagion which is the propensity of
References: Dixon, J. & Mahendran, K. (2012) Social Psychology: Crowds, in Social Psychology matters, pp. 2 – 26, the Open University, Milton Keynes. Hollway, W. (2012) Social Psychology: past and present, in Social Psychology matters, pp. 28 - 54, the Open University, Milton Keynes. Stott, C. (2014) Podcast interview: Module Website, the Open University, Milton Keynes. Reflective account This will be my final module before completing my BSc in Psychology. I am really excited about finally completing my degree, but of course am also busy researching different master programme option. (Will I ever stop studying?!) Since I have a lot going on this year in my personal life, I am a little worried about completing all my assignments in the best possible way. I am hoping to do well in this module, as I know this will count a lot towards my final pass in the degree. Since this is just the first TMA, I have only gotten a little taste of what social psychology is all about. However I have to say my first impression is very positive. It seems so much more applicable to real life than cognitive psychology is. I think social psychology contributes an enormous amount to psychology – it is about understanding interactions with people in day to day life. It is probably more difficult to research than cognitive psychology, because it is not so tangible. Cognitive psychology leaves room for many more quantitative experiments. These generally need much less time or resources to complete than qualitative research which social psychology needs. It also appears like there are many different aspects of social psychology, and it is important to give voice to and explore what all the different theorists have to offer. However as with all topics in psychology this is evolving. Human behaviours and societal norms change, and with that social psychologists will be forced to revise their theories in a much more significant way than cognitive psychologist will have to. This module will give me the opportunity to see how social psychology has evolved in the last 50 years, and it would be fascinating to re-visit this topic in 20 years from now and see which theories are still relevant. Word count: 308