Rabble with a Cause: Were the London Riots a Spontaneous Mass Reaction or a Rational Response?
Friday, August 12, 2011 - 18:00
in Psychology & Sociology
The deadly mob violence that wracked England this past week has abated, as police came out in force and used surveillance images to track down and arrest some 1,900 alleged rioters. As London and other cities in the nation recover, officials and the public may be left wondering how to prevent such rioting in the first place. A key misunderstanding, however, seems to pervade popular thinking: that mobs are irrational and are driven to violence by a few bad apples. In fact, the scientific evidence shows that individuals in mobs do behave rationally, although not always wisely. The findings suggest that understanding the logic behind mob behavior may offer ways to short-circuit riots before they start. [More]