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Group Psychology and Crowd Behavior

2025年11月18日 23:23

Group psychology (also known as crowd psychology) refers to the special psychological state that occurs when a large number of people gather. As individuals within a group conform to the majority, rational thinking and judgment are suppressed, which can result in the group as a whole engaging in extreme behavior.

Characteristics of Group Psychology

Individuals within a group exhibit the following psychological changes.

Reduced rationality and increased excitability: Judgment and rational thinking decline, making it easier to engage in impulsive and emotional behavior.
Increased suggestibility: Individuals become more easily influenced by the words and actions of others or by agitation without critical thought (blindly following others).
Sense of irresponsibility: By being part of an unspecified large number of people, an individual's sense of personal responsibility and guilt diminishes, leading them to take bold actions they would not normally take.
Group polarization: A phenomenon where, as a result of group discussion or conformity, individual judgments and behavioral tendencies shift toward a more extreme direction (such as choosing higher-risk options).

Crowd Behavior

Crowd behavior refers to the actions and conduct taken by a group under the influence of crowd psychology. It is characterized by being largely temporary and unstable.

Examples and Classification of Crowd Behavior

Social psychologist N. Smelser classifies crowd behavior into several types.

Behavioral Type Characteristics and Examples: Hostile Spontaneous ActsActs involving aggressive behavior, such as riots, lynchings, and terrorism.Panic BehaviorActs involving centrifugal behavior, such as fleeing due to panic.Enthusiastic BehaviorActs expressing excitement or fervor, such as carnival dance crowds or rushing to a bargain sale.Norm-Oriented MovementsActs aimed at specific norms or values, such as demonstrations.

For example, crowd accidents (such as crowd crushes) can be said to be an example of extreme crowd behavior that occurs due to a combination of panic (a type of panic behavior), self-centered behavior, and conformity.

The Relationship Between Collective Psychology and Crowd Behavior

Collective psychology is the special psychological state behind crowd behavior.
Crowd behavior is that collective psychology manifested as concrete action.

In other words, as collective psychology intensifies, crowd behavior becomes more likely to head in an impulsive, uncritical, and extreme direction.

There is a video that allows for a deeper understanding of this phenomenon. Why does 'If we all cross together, there's nothing to fear' happen?_Shindai Yokota_Psychology Lecture for High School Students (Japanese Psychological Association)_16 This video uses the phenomenon of 'if we all cross on a red light, there's nothing to fear' as an example to clearly explain the psychology of 'group polarization' and 'conformity' that lies behind collective psychology.