An experimental approach to the study of mob behavior

In view of the difficulties in experimental study of crowd behavior, as exemplified in the lynching mob, recourse was had to a modification of experimental procedure closely approximating mob incitation (assemblage, episode, leader), with provision made for recording at the height of excitement the reactions and motivating context of the individuals present. Under the stress of incitation, 12% indicated an inclination to join the mob forthwith, 23% would go along to see what happened, 29% would have gone with the intention of deterring the mob from lynching the victims, and 35% would have chosen to remain away entirely. In this last category women predominated. This study supports the thesis that in the crowd setting the individual will behave in accord with the dominance of previously established habits, attitudes, and behavior patterns, but that the action itself will be conditioned to some degree by the nature of the situation, since the response of participation or deterrence is to some degree in accordance with the degree to which guilt is or is not completely established. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)

Cognitive psychology · Bullying, Victimization, and Aggression · Clinical Psychology · Impact of Technology on Adolescents · Psychology · Social Psychology

• Methodological, Ideological, and Conceptual-Theoretical Criticisms of the Field of Collective Behavior

  B E Aguirre, E L Quarantelli•Sociological Focus•1983

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• Personalities in the crowd

  Open Access•Gordon W Russell, Gordon Russell•Aggressive Behavior•1995

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• Toward a Theory of Involvement Propensity for Collective Behavior

  Kenneth E Hornback•Sociological Focus•1971

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• Psychological Factors in Civil Violence

  Open Access•Ted Gurr, Ted Robert Gurr•World Politics•1968

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