8 Thought-Experiments On Crowd Psychology

Altering Defaults to Mindless Conformity

As we blend into crowds, our individuality fades, replaced by a collective consciousness. This phenomenon, known as deindividuation¹, can lead us down paths we'd never tread alone.

From the shared euphoria at a rock concert² to the unity in a peaceful protest, the camaraderie at a sports event, and even the spark that ignites mob violence, groups can foster both the best and worst in us. They can breed racism, but they can also birth civil rights movements. The key lies in understanding the dynamics of how the group operates.

So, what's the real danger of crowds? It's not the number of people, but our lack of awareness and understanding of their influence.

To help you explore this further - Here are 8 thought experiments (or a series of get-to-know you questions for first dates). Each one is designed to stimulate your thinking about crowd psychology.

1. The Concert Experiment: Imagine you're at a concert, and everyone starts clapping to the beat. Do you join in? What does it take for you to do it even when undesirable?

2. The Elevator Experiment: If everyone in an elevator faces the back, would you turn around too? What drives your decision?

3. The Social Media Experiment: Scroll through your social media feed. Do you find yourself liking posts because they already have many likes? What’s going to motivate you to be more discerning?

4. The Protest Experiment: If you were part of a peaceful protest that suddenly turned violent, what would you do? How would you maintain a peaceful stance?

5. The Opinion Experiment: Think of a time when you changed your opinion to match the majority. Especially when you lacked sufficient knowledge on the topic and wanted to remain unsure and hold out for longer? Why did you do it?

6. The Joke Experiment: Have you ever laughed at a joke you didn't find funny because everyone else was laughing? It is amazing how often people laugh at uninteresting crap just to win social approval (see my review of Dr. Robert Provine’s laughter research).

7. The Queue Experiment: Would you join a long queue without knowing what it's for, just because others are in line?

8. The Silence Experiment: In a group discussion, if everyone falls silent after someone shares an idea, do you break the silence or go along with the group? Pay attention to that internal mental chatter next time it happens and see if you can go in the direction you want (read Ethan Kross’ book Chatter for more).

These experiments aren't just hypothetical scenarios. They're reflections of our daily interactions, highlighting the subtle yet powerful influence of the crowd. By becoming more aware of this influence, we can make more conscious decisions, ensuring we're not cowardly conformists, but individuals who think, act, and choose for ourselves.

In the end, the crowd is a force we can harness for good, if we approach them with a firm grip on our individuality. Let's not fear the crowd, but learn to navigate it, one conscious decision at a time.

Provocation

Ask the thought experiments above to one of your friends. And if you have a kid, get their answers as well. Be sure to do it in person so you can notice the non-verbal cues. See how long it takes them to respond and whether you think they answered honestly or tried to present themselves as immune to social influences (when the truth is probably far murkier). I'll let you know how my three daughters responded in the comment section....

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Dr. Todd B. Kashdan is an author of several books including The Art of Insubordination: How to Dissent and Defy Effectively (Avery/Penguin) and Professor of Psychology and Leader of The Well-Being Laboratory at George Mason University.

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Read Past Issues Here Including:

1. You might not have known that Dr. Happiness began with this line of work. We will excuse the authors for spelling Dr. Ed Diener’s name wrong. And btw, if you don’t know him, do read this article by his son Robert and me on 3 Lessons From His Research (download it, read it, pass is on - there’s no quicker route to great work than dissecting the best).

2. There are concerts and then there is this one - where I met Eddie Vedder and Chris Cornell back stage.