Mob Mentality
A large group of people who
share a common cause or
interest, and who engage in
behaviors they wouldn’t do
otherwise
What is a mob?
“There is a deep part of most of us that takes
pleasure in being in a crowd, a real crowd, I
mean. A mass of people that is thinking and
feeling the same thing at the same time,
jumping to its feet as one unit, yelling for a
cause, or a team, or a band, or whatever.”
- This American Life, WBEZ radio,
“158: Mob Mentality”
What’s the lure of a mob?
A flash mob dance
Woodstock
Vancouver Canucks fans
“…the thrill of being in a
rampaging mob is as hardwired
into us, as basic to us as a
species, as the ability to love.”
- This American Life, WBEZ radio,
“158: Mob Mentality”
What’s the lure of a mob?
• When people are part of a large group,
they often experience a loss of selfawareness, forgetting their individual
identity and thinking as one entity.
• This leads them to abandon normal
restraints and inhibitions. They often
become willing to engage in
dangerous behavior.
What is “mob mentality”?
A stereotypical mob
(courtesy of “The Simpsons”)
An actual mob
Occupy Wall Street
When mobs turn violent
• Emotional excitement
• Physical anonymity
• Diffusion of responsibility
What makes people
succumb to mob
mentality?
People facing dire circumstances are more likely to engage
in looting, such as when resources were scarce after
Hurricane Sandy.
Are certain people more
susceptible to mob mentality?
Adolescents who share antisocial tendencies and lack
close family bonds are more likely to search for social
identity in gangs.
A division of the
Crips street gang
A division of the
Aryan Warriors gang
Are certain people more
susceptible to mob mentality?
“What is troubling is the public's fascination with this
case, the need to make Casey a villain, and how the
media have helped feed the mob mentality. In particular,
nearly all the TV pundits castigated my former partner
and friend Jose Baez, literally raking his personal and
professional life through the coals. They landed, heavily,
on any witness who spoke up in Casey's favor, making
witnesses extraordinarily difficult to find and interview
because everyone was afraid of the backlash from the
public and the prosecution. There were exculpatory
witnesses who were intimidated to the point that they
feared coming forward. (Word on the street? Helping
Casey Anthony is dangerous.) I was assaulted myself
while investigating this case. I continue to receive hate
mail of a type that is hard to imagine.”
– Andrea Lyon, Casey Anthony’s lawyer (7/18/11)
Mob mentality over criminal court cases
What mobs threaten or harass…
• …Tom Robinson/Atticus?
• …Dolphus Raymond?
• …Miss Maudie?
Mob mentality in
To Kill a Mockingbird
“A mob’s always made up of people, no
matter what. Mr. Cunningham was part of a
mob last night, but he was still a man. Every
mob in every little Southern town is always
made up of people you know—doesn’t say
much for them, does it?”
– Atticus (p. 210)
Mob mentality in
To Kill a Mockingbird