Each of us is well acquainted with the concept of the crowd. In simple terms, this is a large crowd of people. Chaotic, although not without some organization, which arises due to a common object of attention, event, tradition, circumstances.
But not only this unites people caught in the crowd. Emotion, a certain tension, a general psychological state unite them. This is a complex concept and phenomenon, therefore it is worth telling a little more in detail about everything that concerns it.
general characteristics
Before moving on to the types of crowds, you should understand the definition. There are two options, and both are correct, just each of them fits a particular case. So the crowd is:
- An initially unorganized congestion of people that does not have a common conscious goal.
- A cluster of people that has lost its organization and has lost its common goal.
In both cases, everyone in the crowd is in a state of maximum emotional arousal. Such clusters are formed in natural disasters, which include man-made disasters, earthquakes, fires, floods. Even during military exercises, mass shows, celebrations, protests (demonstrations, processions, rallies, strikes). There are transport crowds.
Their types are determined taking into account factors, which include the emotional excitement of people and the degree of activity shown by them. And now you can go to the typology.
Active crowd
It is characterized by increased aggressiveness, a tendency to cruelty, violence, destructive actions. Also active are the escaping crowds, which easily turn into money-grubbers and panic.
This is a generalized definition. Another crowd is any crowd of people that manifests itself in action. For example, football fans who pogrom after a match. The case with the defense of the White House in 1993 can also be considered indicative - then people gathered in an active crowd not to express their feelings or to observe the event, but to take part in the action itself.
Active crowd
This type is the most important in socio-political terms. Accordingly, of all types of crowds, he is the most deeply and closely studied. It is important to note that this type has so-called branches. It is divided into aggressive, panic, money-grubbing and rebellious crowds. The first two will be discussed separately, so for now it’s worth noting the other 2 types.
- The money-grubbing crowd. It is formed by people who are obsessed with the idea of regaining some values or getting them. Crowds of this type are extremely heterogeneous. They can be formed by pogromists, depositors of bankrupt banks, and looters. In any case, all participants are fighting for the possession of values.
- Rebellious crowd of people. She is also called rebel. In the event that the actions of the crowd are successful, it becomes "revolutionary." Instead of luck, defeat comes? Then the crowd ceases to be even rebellious. It becomes a "coup d'etat" or "random rabble."
Aggressive type
This kind of crowd needs to be discussed separately. In an aggressive crowd, the level of emotional excitement, as well as external and internal activity, constantly increases. Gradually manifested mental stress, which is based on feelings of anger, despair, frustration, misunderstanding. From an active state, the crowd turns into an aggressive one due to the appearance of the so-called exciting stimulus. It is he who provokes the emergence of general indignation and indignation.
But mainly the aggressive crowd is distinguished by its destructive behavior. Concentrations of people who are united by a sense of fear, which is usually caused by a danger to life, are divided into panic and those who escape. Their behavior becomes destructive - the level of awareness of the actions performed falls, the critical attitude to the environment disappears, the experience of fear becomes sharper.
And panic crowds are more dangerous than those who escape. Because their behavior poses a greater threat to people. In a panic crowd, the organization is completely lost, and its participants begin to behave unconsciously, mechanically, inappropriately. They are completely absorbed by fear. The saving crowd, which is more predictable, can be subordinated to the organization, since its participants for some time retain the ability to regulate their behavior and be aware of what is happening.
Expressive type
The name itself determines the characteristics of this type of crowd. Expression is a vivid manifestation of thoughts, moods and feelings. And also temperament. What is an expressive crowd? A cluster of people that rhythmically expresses a certain emotion. It can be anything - outrage, joy, anger, enthusiasm.
A striking example is people chanting a slogan at a rally. Or football fans, with their whole crowd supporting the chanting of their favorite team. In some cases, the rhythmic expression of emotions takes an intense form, in connection with which the phenomenon of mass ecstasy appears.
In terms of characterization and education, the expressive crowd of people is similar to the current one. Its participants, too, lose their identity, they also begin to come into contact with meaningless and fast-acting responsiveness.
But there is a fundamental difference. The fact is that participants in the expressive crowd do not develop the image of a particular goal. Accordingly, suggestion does not lead to the creation of an action plan and to its implementation directly. It can be expressed in simple language. The expressive crowd does not work - it simply succumbs to excited movements. In such cases, the external expression of feelings is an end in itself.
Conventional crowd
It consists of people who gathered in a certain place at a specific time not just like that, but with a predetermined goal. Examples of this phenomenon surround us everywhere. Take, for example, spectators of a theatrical performance, listeners of a symphony concert, or football fans.
The peculiarity of this type of cluster is that its participants comply with the rules and generally accepted rules governing their behavior. This makes the crowd predictable and orderly. You could even say that such a crowd is close to the public. This concept also means the totality of persons who are subject to the influence of something - education, literature, events, advertising, art, actions (performances), etc.
Occasional Type
In this case, the name also defines the characteristics of the crowd. The word “occasion” from English means “chance”. That is, an occasional crowd is a crowd of people who are going to look at an unexpectedly occurring incident. An absolutely mundane situation from the social sphere, which every one of us has witnessed at least once in a lifetime.
If a UFO lands on the square of a city, then it is certain that after some 15 minutes it will not push into it. A whole cloud of onlookers will instantly form around him. And what are they? These are individual individuals who by chance turned out to be connected by one center of attention.
How quickly the crowd forms, as well as its size, depends on the information value and the unusual nature of what happened. Suppose a kitten is stuck on a tree - it’s unlikely that at least a hundred people will gather to see how they get it out of there. And if suddenly someone in the middle of the street puts a suitcase with a million rubles and says that after 10 minutes he will give it to the one who he likes the most? People, probably, will also run away from work for the sake of this.
Ecstatic type
It is impossible not to mention him. An ecstatic crowd is a crowd of people who drive themselves to frenzy through joint ritual or prayer actions. This concept has come from the word "ecstasy."
History has a striking example. We are talking about the dances of St. Witt - a holiday that arose in the era of the medieval plague. People were tired of what was happening and so wanted to forget this nightmare that they went crazy and danced to death. And in the literal sense of the word.
Literature
The phenomenon under consideration is perfectly described by the great poet M.Yu. Lermontov in his poem entitled "How often a motley crowd is surrounded ...". In this work, the writer skillfully portrayed a society despised by him, exposing the vital "masquerade" and the cold soullessness of secular society.
He managed to convey the piling up of images in the best possible way, and such speech figures as “decency of tightened masks”, “soulless people”, “long fearless hands” and “wild whisper of hardened speeches” seem to transfer the reader to that atmosphere - so what, to the hall where the ball took place. About the poem "How often a motley crowd is surrounded ..." you can actually tell more, conduct a much more detailed and in-depth analysis. However, everyone will already find in him something catchy, taking for the soul. You should definitely read it at least once.
Crowd signs
They are also worth noting attention. The types of crowds differ in terms and circumstances, but they have the same signs. Here are the main ones:
- The multiplicity. In small groups, psychological phenomena that are typical of a crowd do not arise.
- Aimlessness.
- Increased contact. All people are at a minimum distance from each other. Sometimes he is not at all. So each individual enters the personal space of his "neighbor."
- Emotional excitement. As mentioned earlier, unbalanced dynamic states and unrest are typical psychological states of a crowd.
- Disorganization. Crowds form spontaneously. There is no organization in them, and if it appears, it is lost very quickly.
Human behavior in the crowd
It also represents a certain interest. The behavior of a person in a crowd changes due to circumstances surrounding him. And here is what is observed in the vast majority of cases:
- Decrease in internality. Self-control disappears - the individual's dependence on the crowd intensifies, he unconsciously submits to the influence of the crowd. The ability to regulate one’s own behavior is lost.
- Loss of personality. All participants in the crowd gradually come to the same level of psychological and behavioral manifestations. No matter how different they are, everyone eventually becomes similar to each other.
- Inability to concentrate on one object. Criticality of thinking is manifested, attention is easily switched.
- Fast assimilation and subsequent dissemination of information received. In this case, a person can also involuntarily distort, exaggerate what he heard. So rumors appear in the crowd.
- Suggestibility. Under the influence of external circumstances, a person easily believes that, in a different scenario, he would consider nonsense. This includes lying, misinformation, knowingly unfulfilled promises, absurd slogans, calls, etc.
- Increased activation. When a person is in a crowd, all his resources are mobilized. That is why often people in such conditions show such physical and psychological qualities that seemed inaccessible to him. In other words, a person is surprised at what he is capable of.
- Atypical behavior. Sometimes a person, being in a crowd, can begin to do what he would never accomplish. And then, recalling the incident, he will refuse to believe in him.
And these are just some of the reasons why the crowd phenomenon is of interest to experts. After all, this is not just a crowd of people. The crowd represents a real danger - both for those around and for those inside it.