one case, children were asked to put their names and addresses down before getting candy from the
bowl—in another case they were not asked for their names. Then, in both cases, the experimenter
left the room—but not before telling the children to only take one candy from the bowl.
Predictably, the children were more likely to take extra candy if they were anonymous.
For a more recent example, look no further than online videogame communities. A
study of online gaming communities conducted in 2015 offered these conclusions: that
cheating is much more frequent when people are playing with strangers—and that
cheating in online games can be solved by identification of group members.

WE REFUSE TO TAKE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY
This sounds like a terrible mission statement, but it’s a common human
reflex to take the blame off ourselves when we're in groups—this
tendency is known as the “diffusion of responsibility.” In some
cases, there is ambiguity about who is responsible, so this
assumption is justified—yet diffusion occurs even when
responsibility is not impacted by the presence of others. The
previously mentioned experiment on trick-or-treaters had
a few conditions that looked at this: children in groups
were more likely to take extra candy than children that
were alone; and when one child was identified and held
responsible for the actions of the group, children were less
likely to take candy; but children were even less likely when they
were all identified and told they would be held responsible.

A HOMEGROWN MOB: THE 2011 VANCOUVER
STANLEY CUP RIOT
This example is one we all probably already know about, and some of us
might have even personally witnessed. The hockey riot made international
headlines for how violent and chaotic it got. Many of the concepts we have
already discussed were present at this infamous 2011 event; at the end of the
game, a few fans threw bottles at the screen and then many copied this action.

Soon enough a horde of people were throwing bottles, and that intense group

emotion was quickly transferred to the destruction of police cars.

Another interesting human behaviour that was at work during these riots is
something referred to as emotional contagion: when individuals “catch” a mob’s
intense emotion and inevitably get swept up by it. Studies (like Emotional contagion
in organizational life) have shown that people can feel the emotions they are imitating
subconsciously through the natural process of mimicry. This does not fare well in riot
situations—people are easily influenced by the passion of the crowd, so they act according to
this overflow of emotion.

While this emotion is commonly assumed to be anger or desperation, this Vancouver riot was
fueled by a different emotion: excitement. In an article for the Vancouver Sun, UBC sociologist
Rima Wilkes said that the rioters “weren't even angry.” She goes onto say that “they were
having fun.” Emotional contagion like this is also qualified by the fact that it can be a
trance-like state. As Douglas Psychology Professor James Barton pointed out in an
interview with the Other Press, Vancouver rioters said they could not believe their own
actions.
This certainly seems like another long list of things to worry about, but
studies have shown that being aware of subconscious processes helps in
the prevention of making mistakes because of said processes. When
asked about helpful preventative measures for herd mentality, Douglas
Professor James Barton emphasized on the importance of education.
Understanding that it “only takes a certain amount of the population
that is intent on having other people conform” to achieve that goal
is essential to remember. It doesn’t take much to sway people
to conform—but it also doesn’t take much for individuals
to educate themselves so they can avoid falling into
recognizable traps.

  
  
  
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
  

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YouTube commenters are jerks, and
science can explain why.

 

Illustration by Athena Little