The Psychology of the Crowd

I realize it’s been about a year and a half since this question was originally posted, but I figured I’d leave it here anyway—I happened to be rereading it the other day while searching for a specific quote: Elias Canetti, Crowds and Power.

Here is a little snippet I found on Amazon:
"Canetti dissolves politics into pathology, treating society as a mental activity--a barbaric one, of course--that must be decoded."--Susan Sontag
-- Review

It’s certainly a unique perspective—not everyone's cup of tea, I suppose—but it is quite stylistically engaging (the author was actually a Nobel Prize in Literature winner back in 1981) and deeply meaningful. It doesn't feel like pure psychology to me (as the quote above suggests); it leans more toward anthropology and evolutionary psychology.

Gary James88 said:You’ve got stuff here from before 1930. Got anything a bit more recent? 😁

I know this thread is about a year old now, but maybe someone will find this useful...
Erik fra - Hey everyone, I’m actually reading this one right now.

Maybe this little snippet might give you some ideas to work with:

I’d also suggest checking out the full thread I posted this in. It's actually pretty interesting—you can really see how someone can use graphic design to be super selective about how they communicate...

Hey everyone,
Look, I’m definitely no psychology expert—just someone getting really curious because of everything going on lately. I’d love to hear your thoughts, any book recommendations, or even actual research regarding how crowds are managed... or, you know, manipulated.

I'm especially tripping out over all this back-and-forth about who's actually running these Facebook protests—people arguing whether there’s a mastermind behind it all or if it's totally leaderless, and what "leadership" even looks like when you're dealing with a massive crowd.

Personally? I just can't wrap my head around the idea that these recent protests are actually spontaneous.
What does the science say?

Chloe Martinez5 said:Hey everyone,
Look, I’m definitely no psychology expert—just someone getting really curious because of everything going on lately. I’d love to hear your thoughts, any book recommendations, or even actual research regarding how crowds are managed... or, you know, manipulated.

I'm especially tripping out over all this back-and-forth about who's actually running these Facebook protests—people arguing whether there’s a mastermind behind it all or if it's totally leaderless, and what "leadership" even looks like when you're dealing with a massive crowd.

Personally? I just can't wrap my head around the idea that these recent protests are actually spontaneous.
What does the science say?

What makes you so skeptical about them being spontaneous?
On one hand, they obviously aren't "sudden"—people have been putting up with corrupt politicians and theft for nearly two decades, so they finally hit a breaking point.
On the other hand, every individual made their own independent choice to show up. I haven't seen anyone being forced to take to the streets. 😕

So, for the last few days, my brain has been spiraling down some serious "conspiracy theory" rabbit holes—not that it really matters for this specific thread, since that’s more of a political deep dive.

I'm honestly just fascinated by the actual mechanics behind it all. Like, if you read about how the CIA installs a certain general in Africa or plays a part in toppling a regime over in Mexico, how does that even work in practice?

Because in those countries, most people genuinely believe that they were the ones who pulled the strings and made it happen.

Chloe Martinez5 said:So, for the last few days, my brain has been spiraling down some serious "conspiracy theory" rabbit holes—not that it really matters for this specific thread, since that’s more of a political deep dive.

I'm honestly just fascinated by the actual mechanics behind it all. Like, if you read about how the CIA installs a certain general in Africa or plays a part in toppling a regime over in Mexico, how does that even work in practice?

Because in those countries, most people genuinely believe that they were the ones who pulled the strings and made it happen.

How do they pull it off?😲 Well, they use every tool in the shed! For instance, they might bribe politicians, flood the zone with disinformation, or exert control over black markets. They can even facilitate the flow of massive amounts of drugs or weapons, or maybe "accidentally" let something slip out of a lab just to swoop in later with a "humanitarian" vaccine donation... it varies wildly depending on which country they're targeting.

The masses won't see the strings being pulled, but boy, will they feel the fallout.

Chloe Martinez5 said:So, for the last few days, my brain has been spiraling down some serious "conspiracy theory" rabbit holes—not that it really matters for this specific thread, since that’s more of a political deep dive.

I'm honestly just fascinated by the actual mechanics behind it all. Like, if you read about how the CIA installs a certain general in Africa or plays a part in toppling a regime over in Mexico, how does that even work in practice?

Because in those countries, most people genuinely believe that they were the ones who pulled the strings and made it happen.

How do they do it?😲 Well, they use every tool in the shed. We're talking bribing politicians, spreading disinformation, backing the opposition, or even controlling the black market. They might even let massive amounts of drugs or weapons slip through, or release something from a lab and then step in with a "humanitarian" vaccine donation... it honestly varies so much from one country to the next.

The public won't see the strings being pulled, but they sure enough feel the fallout.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSsPf...eature=related

👎 👍

Brandon Baker26 said:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OSsPf...eature=related

👎 👍

This isn't just some modern phenomenon. It’s actually a standard human response, something we've seen throughout history.

The stuff they teach us in applied psychology? We've known all this for ages...

Doesn't the old saying go...
"Clothes make the man"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowd_manipulation

Just some food for thought... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowd_psychology

I actually filmed

myself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lhxfArTAcfM

It’s split into four parts, by the way.

Anyway, check these out if you're feeling adventurous. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j7A2hVDdB10

William Nelson7 said:The mosh pit is where a person can finally let loose their deepest, most suppressed complexes and primal rage... It’s essentially a box full of explosives of varying magnitudes, just waiting for a single spark to set them off... That energy can trigger anyone... I don't know how many of you have been to a heavy rock concert, but once the crowd starts surging, it's intense... Your logic tells you to back away, but that surge of testosterone pushes you right into the thick of it to shake off all that pent-up aggression.

An individual loses their sense of self in a crowd and just follows whatever rules the group sets,
but I guess I'm not
really sure how much someone can actually express those deep-seated complexes through a crowd? 🤷 (I get the anger part though)
give me an example 😁

Jerry Ramos90 said:An individual loses their sense of self in a crowd and just follows whatever rules the group sets,
but I guess I'm not
really sure how much someone can actually express those deep-seated complexes through a crowd? 🤷 (I get the anger part though)
give me an example 😁

Concerts,

Guns N' Roses

Or even something local...

Taylor Swift - Claire's

😁

Sports games,

Los Angeles Blue Angels

Shopping sprees,

And if we want a classic US example...

Black Friday shopping MADNESS 2011

Essentials of Group Psychology

How groups form, conform, then warp our decision-making, productivity and creativity.

10 Rules that Govern Groups social psychology

social psychology

And, of course,

Big Brother - Chris jumped the fence?

Ever wonder why people basically lose half their brain cells the second they join a crowd?

This Study Explains Why People Act Less Intelligent When They're In A Group

Check it out here: http://www.businessinsider.com/this-...#ixzz1mYTYk9Cy

What is Groupthink?

So, what actually is Groupthink?

• Illusion of invulnerability – Creates excessive optimism that encourages taking extreme risks.
• Collective rationalization – Members discount warnings and do not reconsider their assumptions.
• Belief in inherent morality – Members believe in The rightness of their cause and therefore ignore The ethical or moral consequences of their decisions.
• Stereotyped views of out-groups – negativ views of “ enemy
• Direct pressure on dissenters – Members are under pressure not to express arguments against any of the group’s views.
• Self-censorship – Doubts and deviations fra The perceived Group consensus ara not expressed.
• Illusion of unanimity – The majority view and judgments are assumed to be unanimous.
• Self-appointed ‘mindguards’ – Members protect the group and the leader from information that is problematic or contradictory to the group’s cohesiveness, view, and/or decisions.

thanks Mark Campbell5, I would have never guessed about the Black Friday thing 😁

but I'm still kind of confused about what complexes you were talking about,
the ones people supposedly vent through a group setting.
like, at a Taylor Swift concert, what complex are you even treating there? or maybe Big Brother? 😁
some feeling of not belonging? shyness? 🤔
what kinds of complexes even exist? 🤔

Jerry Ramos90 said:thanks Mark Campbell5, I would have never guessed about the Black Friday thing 😁

but I'm still kind of confused about what complexes you were talking about,
the ones people supposedly vent through a group setting.
like, at a Taylor Swift concert, what complex are you even treating there? or maybe Big Brother? 😁
some feeling of not belonging? shyness? 🤔
what kinds of complexes even exist? 🤔

Let's try tackling this from a different angle...

What actually constitutes a complex?

And how do they even start to form?

Just to be clear here—I don't necessarily think people are "venting" deep-seated psychological issues just by being in a crowd.

I see it more like this: studying crowd psychology is basically just studying individual psychology on a different scale. A group of people essentially functions as a single new organism.

Or look at it this way...

Take women who shop exclusively at H&M; they form a specific group with its own logic and behavioral patterns. An individual might stop buying those clothes and instead join a group that eats at McDonald's, effectively adopting a whole new set of behaviors to fit in.

Every group operates under a set of unwritten rules. You can see it in music subcultures—people who listen to the same stuff tend to dress similarly. Just compare the crowd at a Taylor Swift show to the crowd at a Metallica concert. You'll notice their "uniforms" are pretty strictly defined, not to mention their speech and general vibe.

Once you step into the group, you lose that distinct individuality and just become part of the collective.

I’m not entirely sure if this is the right subforum for this, but I’m looking for an explanation regarding the mindset of certain individuals. I mean, what goes through the head of someone who claims they would lay down their life for America, idolizing generals and shouting patriotism from the rooftops, yet the moment the Los Angeles Blue Angels win a game, they immediately pivot to hurling insults like "city trash" or "worthless scum"? Or even worse, when I see people from New York attacking folks from Florida while calling themselves patriots—it honestly makes my blood boil. This hypocrisy is precisely why I distanced myself from that whole scene; you simply cannot claim to be a patriot while simultaneously screaming vitriol at fellow citizens. I realize some might dismiss them as just kids, but we’re talking about grown adults in their mid-twenties 🙂 In that case, we might as well just hand over New York to a massive expansion of Canada and let Florida fall under the influence of Mexico; then perhaps all this petty bickering would finally cease 🙂

They’re just plain idiots.

And you’re still surprised by everything? You're acting like someone who hasn't seen a single thing coming...

It really comes down to tribalism. It just depends on the scale you're looking at: locally, it’s about hating the rival team down the street, but when things ramp up, it shifts toward hating another country. Honestly, you can't be surprised by it.
LP