Each of us is well aware of the concept of the crowd. In simple terms, this is a large crowd of people. Chaotic, although not devoid of some organization that arises due to a common object of attention, event, tradition, circumstances.
But not only this unites people caught in the crowd. They are united by emotions, a certain tension, a general psychological state. This is a complex concept and phenomenon, so everything that concerns it should be described in a little more detail.
General characteristics
Before we move on to crowd types, we need to understand the definition. There are two options, and both are correct, it's just that each of them fits a particular case. So the crowd is:
- Initially, a disorganized collection of people that does not have a common conscious goal.
- A crowd of people that has lost its organization and lost its common purpose.
In both cases, all those inthe crowd are in a state of maximum emotional excitement. Such accumulations are formed in conditions of natural disasters, which include man-made disasters, earthquakes, fires, and floods. Even during military exercises, mass spectacles, celebrations, protests (demonstrations, marches, rallies, strikes). There are also traffic crowds.
Their types are determined taking into account factors, which include the emotional excitation of people and the degree of their activity. And now we can move on to the typology.
Active crowd
Characterized by increased aggressiveness, a tendency to cruelty, violence, destructive actions. Also, fleeing crowds are considered active, which easily turn into acquisitive and panicky.
This is a generalized definition. Another active crowd is any gathering of people that manifests itself in action. For example, football fans who arrange a mayhem after the match. The case of the defense of the White House in 1993 can also be considered significant - then people gathered in an active crowd not to express their feelings or watch the event, but for the sake of taking part in the action itself.
Crowd in action
This type is the most important in socio-political terms. Accordingly, of all types of the crowd, it is the most deeply and closely studied. It is important to note that this type has so-called branches. It is subdivided into aggressive, panic, acquisitive and rebellious crowds. The first two will be discussed separately, sonow it is worth noting the other 2 types.
- The acquisitive crowd. It is formed by people who are obsessed with the idea of recovering some valuables or getting them. Crowds of this type are extremely heterogeneous. They can be formed by rioters, depositors of bankrupt banks, looters. In any case, all participants are fighting for the possession of values.
- Rebellious crowd of people. It is also called rebel. In the event that the actions of the crowd are successful, it becomes "revolutionary". Instead of luck comes defeat? Then the crowd ceases to be considered even rebellious. It becomes a "gathering of putschists" or "random rabble."
Aggressive type
This type of crowd needs to be discussed separately. In an aggressive crowd, the level of emotional excitement, as well as external and internal activity, is constantly increasing. Gradually, mental tension appears, which is based on feelings of anger, despair, frustration, misunderstanding. From an active state, the crowd passes into an aggressive one in connection with the appearance of the so-called exciting stimulus. It is he who provokes the emergence of general indignation and indignation.
But the main thing that distinguishes an aggressive crowd is its destructive behavior. Clusters of people who are united by a sense of fear, which is usually caused by danger to life, are divided into panic and fleeing. Their behavior becomes destructive - the level of awareness of the actions taken falls, the critical attitude to the situation disappears, the experience of fear becomessharper.
And panicked crowds are more dangerous than fleeing ones. Because their behavior poses a greater threat to humans. In a panicked crowd, the organization is completely lost, and its members begin to behave unconsciously, mechanically, inadequately. They are completely consumed by fear. The fleeing crowd, which is more predictable, can be subdued by organizations, as its members retain the ability to regulate their behavior and be aware of what is happening for some time.
Expressive type
The name itself defines 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 collection of people that rhythmically expresses a certain emotion. It can be anything - outrage, joy, anger, enthusiasm.
A vivid example is people chanting a slogan at a rally. Or football fans who support their favorite team with their whole crowd. In some cases, the rhythmic expression of emotions takes on an intense form, resulting in the phenomenon of mass ecstasy.
According to the characteristics and education, an expressive crowd of people is similar to an active one. Its participants also lose self-awareness, they also begin to contact with mindless and fast-acting responsiveness.
But there is a fundamental difference. The fact is that the participants in an expressive crowd do not develop an image of a particular goal. Accordingly, suggestion does not lead to the creation of an action plan and its implementation.directly. It can also be expressed in simple terms. An expressive crowd does not act - it simply succumbs to excited movements. In such cases, the outward expression of feelings is an end in itself.
Conventional crowd
It consists of people who have gathered in a certain place at a specific time for a reason, but with a predetermined goal. Examples of this phenomenon are all around us. 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 follow the rules and generally accepted norms that regulate their behavior. This makes the crowd predictable and orderly. You can even say that such a crowd of people close to the public. This concept also means a set of persons who are the object of 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 "accident". That is, an occasional crowd is a gathering of people who gathered to look at an unexpected incident. An absolutely ordinary situation from the social sphere, which each of us has witnessed at least once in our lives.
If a UFO lands on the square of a city, then for sure after some 15 minutes it will not be crowded. A whole will instantly form around him.a bunch of onlookers. And what do they represent? These are separate individuals who, by chance, were connected by one center of attention.
How quickly a crowd forms, as well as its size, depends on the informational value and unusualness of what happened. Suppose a kitten is stuck on a tree - it is unlikely that at least a hundred people will gather to see how they will get it out of there. And what if someone suddenly puts a suitcase with a million rubles in the middle of the street and says that in 10 minutes he will give it to the one he likes the most? People will probably run away from work for this.
Ecstatic type
Not to mention him. An ecstatic crowd is a collection of people who drive themselves into a frenzy through joint ritual or prayer activities. This concept came from the word "ecstasy".
History knows a striking example. We are talking about the dances of St. Vitus - a holiday that arose in the era of the medieval plague. People were tired of what was happening and wanted to forget this nightmare so much that they went crazy and danced to death. And in the truest sense of the word.
Literature
The phenomenon under consideration is perfectly described by the great poet M. Yu. Lermontov in his poem en titled "How often surrounded by a motley crowd …". In this work, the writer skillfully portrayed the society he despised, denouncing the "masquerade" of life and the cold soullessness of secular society.
He was the best at conveying the heap of images, and such figures of speech as “decency of tight masks”, “soullesspeople”, “long untrembling hands” and “wild whisper of hardened speeches” seem to take the reader into that atmosphere - but what’s there, in the hall where the ball took place. About the poem "How often surrounded by a motley crowd …", in fact, you can tell more, conduct a much more detailed and in-depth analysis. However, everyone will find in it something catchy, taking over the soul. You should definitely read it at least once.
Signs of the crowd
They should also be noted with attention. The types of crowds differ in conditions and circumstances, but their signs are the same. Here are the main ones:
- Plurality. In small groups, the psychological phenomena that are typical of crowds do not occur.
- Aimlessness.
- Increased contact. All people are at a minimum distance from each other. Sometimes it doesn't exist at all. So each individual enters the personal space of his "neighbor".
- Emotional excitement. As mentioned earlier, unbalanced dynamic states and unrest are typical crowd psychological states.
- Disorganized. Crowds form spontaneously. There is no organization in them, and if it appears, it is lost very quickly.
Crowd behavior
It is also of some interest. The behavior of a person in a crowd changes due to the circumstances around him. And this is what is observed in the vast majority of cases:
- Decrease in internality. Loss of self-controlthe individual becomes more dependent on the crowd, he unconsciously submits to the influence of the crowd. The ability to regulate one's own behavior is lost.
- Loss of individuality. All members of 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. Uncritical thinking is manifested, attention is easily switched.
- Quick assimilation and subsequent dissemination of the information received. At the same time, a person can also involuntarily distort, exaggerate what he heard. This is how rumors spread in the crowd.
- Suggestibility. Under the influence of external circumstances, a person easily believes in what, in a different scenario, he would consider nonsense. This includes lies, misinformation, obviously unfulfillable promises, absurd slogans, appeals, 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 himself is surprised at what he turns out to be capable of.
- Atypical behavior. Sometimes a person, being in a crowd, can begin to do something that he would never have done. And then, remembering what happened, he will refuse to believe in him.
And these are just some of the reasons why the crowd phenomenon is of interest to study by specialists. It's not just a bunch of people. The crowd is a real dangermoreover, both for those around her and for those who are inside her.
