Blackwell Reference Online

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The study of collective behavior in which large numbers of people who are in the same place at the same time behave in a uniform manner which is volatile, appears relatively unorganized, is characterized by strong emotions, and is often in violation of social norms ( Graumann & Moscovici, 1986 ; Milgram & Toch, 1969 ; Moscovici, 1985 ; Reicher, 1987 ). Crowds include mobs, panics, demonstrations, rallies, and audiences. Social psychologists often treat crowd behavior as a major part of the wider phenomenon of collective behavior, which also includes rumors , crazes, fads and fashions, social movements and cults, and contagions of expression, enthusiasm, anxiety, fear, and hostility. The study of the crowd is often a part of the study of group processes or intergroup relations ( Hogg & Abrams, 1988 ), but is distinct from the study of crowding — the latter emphasizes the effect of contextual or enduring population density on individual behavior, while crowd psychology focuses on the collective aspect of behavior in a gathering. The crowd is a vivid social phenomenon both for those who are involved and for those who witness the events first hand or through literature and the media. Consider the Tian'anmen Square protest in 1989, the Los Angeles riots of 1992, the Nazi rallies of the 1930s, the celebrations at the removal of the Berlin wall in 1990, the huge antiwar ... log in or subscribe to read full text