Mob Mentality Analysis

The Emotional Disarray of Mob Mentality A man danced alone on a hill, showered with sunlight at a concert, jumping wildly to the beat of the song being played. The onlookers, who rested quietly on the blades of grass, silently judged the dancing man. A lone person joined the initial man, and the first man embraced the new person warmly-- they danced together. A few seconds later, another man combined with the small group. He called to his friends and they fused with the few other people. Soon, more and more onlookers merged with the group of dancing people upon the hill. The beat was thumping along with the people as they jumped. The crowd of people still sitting, quickly stood in order to combine with the assembly. The lone man started out

Not all mobs are bad, but most mobs have something in common with each other-- mob mentality. Tamara Avent, Psychology Program Director at South University-Savannah, explained the psychology behind mob mentality by stating, “When people are part of a group, they often experience deindividuation, or a loss of self-awareness. When people deindividuate, they are less likely to follow normal restraints and inhibitions and more likely to lose their sense of individual identity” (qtd. in Donley n. pag.). When people are part of a group, they do not feel as if they are an individual, making them more susceptible to making detrimental choices. They believe that they are not going to be held accountable, that the emotions and the reasoning they are applying to their current situation is normal, because the people they are around are acting in the same way they are. Additionally, Tamara Avent commented on the behaviors of mobs by saying, “Groups can generate a sense of emotional excitement, which can lead to the provocation of behaviors that a person would not typically engage in if alone” (qtd. In Donley n. pag.). Groups can cause behaviors that people would not usually do if they were not in the group they were in. People can be pulled away from the mentality of the mob if they are individualized. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Scout unintentionally extricated Mr. Cunningham from a mob he was a part of by reminding him of his