Mass psychology in operation

As Aristotle said, "Man is a rational animal". Man thinks rationally most of the time if he is left alone. However, when a country is at war or when the people are trying to elect a leader, very few people think on their own. The whole nation or a large portion of society begins to think collectively. This is sometimes referred to as mass psychology.

The best example I can think of is Adolf Hitler. When he was in the German army during World War II, he was an ordinary lance-corporal. He is reported to have spent a good deal of his time as a mess-room orderly. However, Hitler did not waste much time to become the leader of the National Socialist Party (NSP). The secret of his rapid success was that he could speak convincingly. For his luck it was the time Germany was looking for a leader. When somebody in the NSP suggested Hitler's name as a potential leader, others questioned him, "Who is he?" Then the person who suggested his name said, "He is the man we want - I have heard him speak!"

Although the NSP wanted to use Hitler to further its ends, he was too smart for them. Through the sheer power of his oratory, Hitler became the leader of the NSP and Germany as well. What he did as a leader and his mass persecutions of the Jews stand testimony to man's inhumanity to man.

When a country is in the process of electing a leader, as individuals we favour one candidate or the other. We weigh the pros and cons of their leadership qualities and come to a decision. But the majority of the people take some time to make up their minds. It is a known fact that individuals can think rationally and take a decision. However, people as a collective body are swayed by propaganda and speeches of respective orators. Even a right thinking person is likely to be carried away by the words of an effective public speaker. This is nothing new to someone who has studied human history.

Adolf Hitler swayed public opinion through oratory

Demonstrations in the streets of London during the Boer War can be cited as examples of the emotional effects induced by mass suggestions. Similarly we have heard accounts of lynching in the United States of America where educated and so-called civilised people gathered to witness how an innocent Negro was dragged along the road and burnt to death. Not a single man in the crowd protested against the inhuman treatment meted out to another human being.

Mass psychology is in operation even at a lower level. For instance, once I saw how a bottle of arrack was put on sale at an auction in a religious place. People started bidding despite the fact that liquor was frowned upon by that particular religion. The bidders who were gripped by mass psychology started from Rs 50 until one person bought it for Rs 5,000! For him it was a matter of prestige. The man who bought it could have purchased a bottle of whisky for that amount!

On another occasion I saw how the people who had gathered in a public park started crying during a prayer session. The lay preacher, through his mastery of oratory, made the congregation to give vent to their pent-up feelings - something not too bad psychologically. If the lay preacher approached them individually, I am quite certain the results would have been quite different.

Why do individuals change their behaviour when they find themselves in a group? There can be more than one answer to this question. In the first place, man is a social animal and he wants to associate with his fellow creatures. This is why men have formed so many clubs, political parties, and numerous professional associations. For instance, in a leading private school there are well over 100 clubs for students!

No man is an island. Although some people try to live alone, cut off from society, they simply cannot do so. People want to mix with others. They want the attention of other human beings. So, they do various things to make themselves the centre of attraction. Fashion, for instance, is one way of attracting the attention of others.

Although some of the fashions are horrible to look at, they are necessary to satisfy the herd instinct of the people.

Mass psychology helps people to demonstrate against the establishment and ask for things which cannot be given. Sometimes the demonstrators are more interested in getting publicity than winning their demands.

Some individuals are extremely good at rousing the people to achieve their own ends.

Great orators know how to sway public opinion. They know that they cannot change individual thinking. This is because a mob does not reason - it obeys emotional impulses. The mob orator knows how to modulate his voice, use dramatic gestures and come out with memorable phrases. Adolf Hitler was one of the greatest mob orators. He was streets ahead of Napoleon Bonaparte who was much more intelligent than Hitler.

While individual psychology is fuelled by reason, mass psychology depends on emotions. Many people do not know that emotion is more or less a primitive instinct. However, reason is a development of educated intelligence. When mass psychology is applied even right-thinking people may be carried away by propaganda and appeal to emotion.

There is still a minority of people who are not easily moved by mass appeal to emotions. They are those who are trained to appreciate and enjoy the arts, sculpture, music, or literature. Their primitive emotions are under control. As such, intellectuals are less likely to be swayed by mass appeal. However, how many of us will fit into this rare category? Your guess is as good as mine.