Zeroing In: Mob Mentality

There are many blogs and websites out there that address the need to prepare for the worst case scenario – namely, a situation of rioting, rebellion, and danger in our communities. In the food storage and emergency preparedness industry, a lot of attention is paid to this kind of concern. I often read warnings from educated and well-practiced individuals who say that one of the greatest threats in an emergency comes from mob mentality.

Mob mentality, also known as “herd mentality” or “group think,” plays prominently in some of the most disturbing news stories in recent times, from 1992′s Los Angeles Riots to the gang rape that took place last month at Richmond High School in California. Mob mentality is the idea that when human beings are faced with stressful or pressure-filled situations, they will often look to the behavior of others and mimic it, possibly out of the desire to conform.

It’s an unsettling thought: are our consciences and morals really so flexible, so influenced by outside forces? We all like to think that we’d be strong enough to think clearly and make the right decisions, regardless of what those around us are doing. Statistically speaking, that’s just not the case. The challenge for today is to consider the possible impact of mob mentality in an emergency situation and to prepare for the actions that others may take when the stakes are high. Though there are many times when we are wise to trust others and depend on their help, it’s important to recognize that this ideal doesn’t always fit the reality.

The vulnerability to mob mentality starts with the desire to form and join social groups. This instinct is extremely powerful and built into our nature as human beings. Some social groups, such as a family or a classroom full of students, come to mind immediately as groups that we gravitate towards. Studies have also shown a surprising willingness to form groups around the most trivial, passing things, proving our tendency to find others to whom we can relate. Groups help us to form a social identity and contribute to our sense of self.

Membership in a group that is seen as “superior” helps us to view ourselves as “superior” as well. Of course, the idea of superiority depends on having another group that’s somehow inferior. In an emergency situation, superiority might be tied to having more food, firearms, or group members. Members of any group, superior or otherwise, will quickly get a feel for the norms, or rules of behavior, that exist in that group.

Group norms are sometimes hard to recognize at first, but they can also be powerful in causing us to bend our behaviors and change our personalities in ways we would never expect. As human beings, we’ll often change our language, the way the we dress, and even our core beliefs in order to “fit in.” I’m sure you can think of a time in your life – perhaps when you started a new job or moved to a different city – when you’ve seen group norms at work.

One famous scientific study, conducted in the 1950s by Solomon Asch, showed that we’ll often go against our own judgment to fit in with a group. The study has some complexity to it, but I’ll simplify for our purposes today. Asch used a diagram like the one below as the starting point for his study.

In Asch’s famous study, a group of nine people were shown the two pictures side by side and asked to decide which line in the second picture – line A, B, or C – was the same length as the line in the first picture. The correct answer, of course, is line C. The procedure was repeated 12 times in each group, with participants viewing variations of the above figure.

The experiment had one crucial twist, however. Only one of the nine participants in each group was actually part of the experiment; the other eight participants were hired by Asch to intentionally give the wrong answer. The experiment was designed to measure whether the real participants would give an answer they knew to be wrong in order to fit in with the group. Overall, the average conformity rate was 33%. If you trust the study, then, this would mean that when we’re asked to make a decision between what we know is right and what other people are doing, we’ll follow the group norms a third of the time.

It’s easy to write this off as an irrelevant measure of conformity. This only measures lines on a piece of paper, right? Whether stakes are high or low, or desire to fit in affects our actions in surprising ways. Real life examples, both large and small, show us that it takes an especially strong person to resist the influence of group norms.

Conformity itself is something of a mixed blessing. A sense of belonging will often allow us to form incredible friendships, expand our horizons, and find safety. In fact, I’d argue that we actually need conformity, to an extent, if we want a fulfilling life. The trick is to recognize the effects of conformity, group norms, and mob mentality. When lives are on the line, we can’t be foolish enough to expect that a group of people will act rationally. This might mean that you create a food storage that goes above and beyond your family’s needs, giving you the option to share your supply with others if necessary. You might also decide to take extra precautions in terms of arming your family. Whatever direction you take, be sure to consider the ill effects of group norms and mob mentality in an emergency situation.