The place of anonymity in theories of crowd behaviour Essay Example for Free

The place of anonymity in theories of crowd behaviour Essay Explain the place of anonymity in theories of crowd behaviour. Is it always associated with a ‘loss of self’ (Dixon and Mahendran, 2012, p. 13)? This essay will start by explaining the concept of anonymity and how it is used in theories of crowd behaviour namely the contagion, deindividuation theory and social identity theory. Later the essay will focus on critical discussion comparing the above theories in terms of how they perceive anonymity and the loss of self. It will highlight the similarities between Le Bon’s theory and the deidividuation theory but will also point out some of their differences. The essay will also offer the account of the social identity theory which does not see the crowd behaviour as associated with the loss of self and explains it differently in terms of social identity. The essay will also present evidence to support these claims. The crowd behaviour theories are concerned with how individuals experience being a part of a large group and how this in turn influences their feelings and behaviour. Crowd psychologists would argue that the experience of being a part of a large group necessarily means that a sense of anonymity is created. This anonymity then allows individuals in the crowd to feel somehow ‘safe’ in terms of what they are able to do or say without being directly responsible for it. However different theories view the concept of anonymity differently. Le Bon argued that the concept of anonymity in the crowd is not beneficial at all. In fact he viewed the crowds as dangerous because individuals lose their rationality which is substituted by a ‘group mind’ and as such crowds are a threat to social hierarchy (Dixon and Mahendran, 2012, p. 5). According to Le Bon the experience of being in the crowd involves anonymity thus the individuals are not responsible for their actions and feel a part of the collective therefore are more likely to get influenced by ideas that are sweeping through the crowd a concept Le Bon called the contagion. This anonymity then leads the individuals to behave in an aggressive and primitive way. The deindividuation theory outlook on anonymity is a bit different. Whilst deindividuation theory would agree with Le Bon on the fact  that crowd behaviour generates anonymity and leads individuals to believe that they are not personally accountable for their actions in the crowd, the idea of a ‘ group mind’ is dismissed. Instead Festinger, Pepitone and Newcomb argue that the sense of anonymity individuals experience in the crowds is a psychological shift in individual’s self perception which is clearly measurable (Dixon and Mahendran, 2012, p. 6.). From the perspective of the social identity theory crowd behaviour is not necessarily connected with anonymity and the loss of self. According to Tajfel and Turner the loss of self in the crowd behaviour is replaced by the social identity which is constrained by shared social norms amongst the group. Tajfel argues that we posses not just one individual identity but also a social one in terms that we belong to various social groups and share and accept their norms and values. In this light the social identity theory would argue that individuals do not lose their sense of self in the crowd rather they are more constrained by the shared group norms and as such cannot feel anonymous. It could be argued that Le Bon’s concept of contagion and the deindividuation theory have some similarities. They both start with the assumption that the crowd behaviour involves anonymity which is associated with the loss of self to a certain degree. Both of these theories also agree on the fact that the crowd behaviour alters individual’s feelings and behaviour and makes them more impulsive and less accountable for their actions. However both of the theories use different concept to explain this behaviour. Whilst Le Bon explains the crowd behaviour with the concept of the ‘group mind’ which takes over a rational individual’s mind and leads them to be aggressive and primitive (Dixon and Mahendran, 2012, p. 5), Festinger et al. use the concept of deindividuation to explain the psychological shift in individual’s mind whilst being part of the crowd. Another similarity between the concept of contagion and deindividuation is their perception of crowds being somewhat negative in their nature. Le Bon argues that crowds are dangerous in terms of their primitiveness and possible uncontrolled aggression. These features of crowd behaviour according to Le Bon pose a threat to the social hierarchy and as such should  be controlled and prevented (Dixon and Mahendran, 2012, p. 5). Similarly the deindividuation theories would suggest that the effects of crowd behaviour on the individual are negative in a sense that they lead to increased aggression. Zimbardo focused on the links between anonymity and aggression in his experiment with administering the electric shocks and the findings suggested that anonymity had indeed intensified the aggression. Zimbardo explained this phenomenon as a ‘diffusion of responsibility’ and saw it as a by-product of deindividuation. According to Zimbardo being part of crowd (or a social group) makes individuals feel like they are protected by the anonymity surrounding them and therefore they do not feel a moral responsibility for their actions which leads them to being more violent and aggressive. In the light of the evidence presented by Zimbardo it could be argued that anonymity is indeed associated with the loss of self. On the other hand there are differences to be found between these theories and their outlook on the loss of self. Whilst Le Bon and his concept of contagion and to some degree deindividuation theories would argue that crowds are not beneficial, the social identity theory would present evidence to argue otherwise. As Tajfel and Turner argue crowd behaviour is not necessarily associated with the loss of self rather there is a shift from the individual’s sense of self to the collective one. Social identity theorists do not see this feature of crowd behaviour as negative but rather they explain crowd behaviour in terms of its uniformity and spontaneity. According to the social identity theorists the fact that people belong to a certain social group creates constraints and forces the individuals to behave in a way that is acceptable and shared within the members of the group. As such the social groups act in a way which is more uniformed and predictable than the individuals themselves. Furthermore the social identity theorists would point out that thanks to the concept of ‘inductive categorization’ the crowds behaviour can be seen as socially coordinated. This concept can be explained using an example of football fans behaviour during the football match where there is no leader who orders the fans to sing and cheer at the same time. Rather if one of the fans starts singing or chanting the others join in because of the ‘inductive categorization’ within this particular social group. The evidence to challenge the claim that anonymity in crowd behaviour is always associated with a loss of self can be found in a research conducted by Reicher on the St. Pauls riots. Reicher argued that the riots were no random acts of violence as Le Bon or deindividuation theory would suggest, rather the rioters directed their violence towards specific targets and kept them geographically confined to the relevant area. This suggests that the rioter’s behaviour was uniformed and predictable and therefore fits in the explanation of the social identity theory. Further evidence can be found in the research of Reicher and Stott on the London riots in 2011. From the perspective of the deidividuation and Le Bon’s theory the riots were explained as a prime example of a ‘group mind’ taking over any rationality and resulting in violence and aggression. According to these theories the individuals lost their identity in the crowd hence their responsibility and behaved like primitive animals. However different perspective is offered by the social identity theorists. Reicher and Stott argued that the rioters did not lose their identities in the riots but rather they switched to the social identity which resulted in a collective action. The rioters were not random criminals but were members of the social community with a shared ideas and goals. The actions of the rioters were not random but they were directed at the symbols of authority suggesting collective and uniformed action which was designed to fight inequality. The social identity theorists would therefore argue that there is no such concept as a loss of self in the cr owd behaviour rather there is a shift to a social identity which is distinguished by its collectiveness and uniformity. In summary then it could be argued that from the perspective of the deindividuation theory and Le Bon’s theory, anonymity in crowd behaviour is associated with the loss of self. Le Bon and his concept of contagion argue that individuals in crowd lose their ability to think rationally and are consumed by the ‘group mind’. Deindividuation theories argue for the psychological shift in individual’s mind which is caused by crowd’s anonymity and leads to irrationality and aggression. Zimbardo’s experiment on the diffusion of responsibility certainly suggests this. On the other hand the social identity theory and its explanation of the crowd behaviour  argue strongly against the concept of the loss of the self. This perspective suggests that social groups are far more constrained by its shared social norms to be irrational. Social identity theorists view the crowd behaviour as a positive force in the social change.

energy for 1999 :: essays research papers

Total world carbon dioxide emissions from the consumption of petroleum, natural gas, and coal, and the flaring of natural gas increased from 5.873 billion metric tons of carbon equivalent in 1990 to 6.144 billion metric tons in 1999, or by 4.6%. (Carbon dioxide emissions are measured in metric tons of carbon equivalent. Tons of carbon equivalent can be converted to tons of carbon dioxide gas by multiplying by 3.667. One ton of carbon equivalent equals 3.667 tons of carbon dioxide gas.) The United States, China, Russia, Japan, and India produced 51% of the world's total carbon dioxide emissions from the consumption and flaring of fossil fuels in 1999. Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, and France—ogether produced 12%. Petroleum accounted for 44% of the carbon dioxide emissions; coal, 35%; and natural gas, 21%. Between 1990 and 1999, energy production and consumption increased in every region of the world except in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet bloc. East Asia a nd Oceania saw a production increase of 13.6 quadrillion Btu, and a consumption increase of 24.9 quadrillion Btu. Energy production in the Middle East increased by 12.1 quadrillion Btu, the second-largest increase for any region, while consumption increased 5.3 quadrillion Btu. Energy production in Central and South America increased by 8.2 quadrillion Btu, while consumption rose by 6.2 quadrillion Btu. In North America, energy production rose by 7.1 quadrillion Btu, and consumption increased 15.6 quadrillion Btu. Energy production in Western Europe rose by 5.8 quadrillion Btu, and consumption increased by 6.6 quadrillion Btu. Energy production in Africa increased by 5.2 quadrillion Btu, while consumption rose 2.4 quadrillion Btu. In Eastern Europe and the former USSR production declined 22.9 quadrillion Btu and consumption dropped 25.3 quadrillion Btu.In 1999, the United States, Russia, and China were the leading producers and consumers of energy, producing 38%, and consuming 41%, of the world's energy. The United States, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, and Canada were the five largest producers of energy in 1999, supplying 47.9% of the world's total. The United States supplied 72.3 quadrillion Btu of primary energy; Russia, 41.5 quadrillion Btu; and China, 30.9 quadrillion Btu. The next leading producers—the United Kingdom, Iran, Norway, India, and Mexico—together supplied 13.1% of the world's energy. The United States, China, Russia, Japan, and Germany were the largest consumers in 1999, using 49.9% of world energy. Canada, India, France, the United Kingdom, and Brazil together used an additional 14%.

Atlantic Slave Trade Essay

The origins of the Atlantic Slave Trade were products of Western Europe’s expansion of power that began at the beginning of the 1500’s through the 1900‘s. The main contributing European countries to the Atlantic Slave Trade were Portugal, Spain, the Netherlands, France, and England. Portugal lead the movement during the 1400’s and arrived in Western Africa in hopes to find Christian allies to spread Christianity against the Muslims of Northern Africa. But they soon became more interested in trade (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). Slavery, however, has existed in all cultures for thousands of years. For example, Arab merchants and West African Kings imported white European slaves. At first, the slave trade focused on women and children who would serve as domestic servants. But later the trade switched to focusing on young men for agricultural labor in the Americas. The Portuguese traded primarily for gold, ivory, pepper, as well as slaves. After a few decades, the had captured hundreds of slaves (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). It’s misleading to say all slaves were captured by raiders, because in many cases they were bought from African traders. Columbus’s voyages completely changed the slave trade. Once colonies in the Americas were established, many of the Native Americans who were enslaved died of disease and overwork causing a need for more African slaves. During the 1600’s, sugar plantations, gold and silver mines produced an enormous demand for labor. Soon after, markets for coffee, tobacco and rice cultivation yet again increased the demand for African slaves (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). By the early 1700’s, the English dominated the Slave Trade, carrying about 20,000 slaves per year from Africa to the Americas. By the end of the century, over 50,000 slaves were being transported per year. After 1700, the importation of firearms heightened the intensity of many of the wars and resulted in a great increase in the numbers of enslaved peoples. European forces 2 ?intervened in some of the localized fighting and in warfare all along the Atlantic coast. They sought to obtain captives directly in battle or as political rewards for having backed the winning side (â€Å"The transatlantic slave,† ). The enormous amount of slave labor and its incredibly low cost highly contributed to the advancements of the Industrial Revolution. Also during this time, many civil wars throughout Africa produced captives which were sold as slaves in Western Africa. Raiders often tied the captives together with ropes and secured them with wooden yokes around their necks. Many captives died of hunger and exhaustion before even being put on ships. Other slave captives decided to kill themselves rather than be forced into slavery (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). Once the captives reached the coast of Western Africa, the captives were kept in â€Å"factories†, which were headquarters of the slave traders. These factories contained warehouses with supplies and dungeons to keep the captives in. In these factories, the slavers would divide families up to decrease the possibility of a rebellion happening. After a few weeks in these factories, the slave holders would brand the â€Å"fit† slaves bearing the symbol of that particular trading company (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). European brutalization of the captives was an attempt to destroy the African’s sense of self-identity. The voyage from Africa to the first stop in the Caribbean generally lasted between two and three months. As the demand for slaves increased, so did piracy. Many opposing nations would fight and attempt to steal each other’s slave ships seeing how valuable slaves were at the time (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). Other natural causes that contributed to the destruction of slave ships were hurricanes as well as doldrums, which are long periods of time with no wind gusts to propel the ships. ?The ships themselves were designed to maximize the amount of slaves to be carried. The cargo space where the slaves kept were only about five feet tall. And slaves were chained together in pairs to minimize the chance of a rebellion. Many times, especially during storms, the slavers neglected to feed the slaves or change the tubs and buckets used for toilets, as well removing dead bodies (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). Sanitation was also a major contributor to death and disease. Only about three or four toilet tubs were provided for all of the slaves. Mortality rates were exceptionally high on the ships, averaging around 15%. Overall, about one third of all slaves died during the whole process of moving them from Africa to the Americas. The main causes of mortality on the ships were diseases such as small pox, malaria, dysentery, yellow fever and measles (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). There was however still rebellions from the captive slaves aboard the ships. Rebellions usually occurred when the ship was getting ready to set sail or when they ships were still within sight of the Africa land mass, when there as still hope for the slaves to return home. Often times slaves would actually starve themselves intentionally or try to jump off the ship to drown. But to combat this, the slavers would sometimes put nets on the side of the ship to stop jumpers and to deal with those who would refuse to eat, the slavers would use hot coals to force individual’s mouths open to eat (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). The women aboard the slave ships were treated very badly as well. They were often raped and sexually abused. Many times, all of the women were kept in separate rooms to make it easier for the slavers to take advantage of them. The slave ships would generally arrive at islands in the Caribbean for rest to make them more healthy and appealing for buyers. The english preferred the island of Barbados for this 4 ?resting period. Barbados experienced a jump in its slave population from 1,000 to 20,000 in the first decade after sugar cultivation was introduced around 1640 (Smallwood, 2007). This resting period in the Caribbean came to be termed seasoning and on these islands the slavers divided into a few different categories of slaves depending on how acculturated the slaves were to the New World’s culture and lifestyle. These categories were those who were born in the Americas, those who had lived in the Americas for a long period of time, and the new slaves from Africa (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). During seasoning, the slavers would attempt to modify the behavior of the slaves to make them effective laborers. The new slaves were also given new names and were attempted to be taught English so they could obey commands (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). The planters in the Caribbean would often rely on the already acculturated slaves to train the new slaves because it was easier that way. The physical condition of the arriving slaves to buyers would many times be a disappointment to the buyers. Although the slavers would shave and wash them, the illusion of health would not always conceal the truth to the buyers. Also, many times the cargoes included too many women, children, or older people. This was also a disappointment to the buyers and the regularity of these outcomes were soon considered â€Å"normal† (Smallwood, 2007). The planters then assessed the successful seasoning of slaves by three criteria: firstly if they survived the journey, secondly if the could adapt to the new climate and new foods, and lastly if they were able to learn a new language to obey commands. However, as many as half of the slaves ended up dying within the first three years after arriving at the Americas (Smallwood, 2007). Of the estimated ten million men, women, and children who survived the Middle Passage, approximately 450,000 Africans disembarked on North America’s shores. They thus 5 ?represented only a fraction – 5 percent– of those transported during the 350-year history of the international slave trade. Brazil and the Caribbean each received about nine times as many Africans (â€Å"The transatlantic slave,† ). The Atlantic Slave trade began to diminish in the late 1700’s by both humanitarian efforts as well as declining need for slaves in the modernized industrial economy. The lasting effects of the diminishing of the slave trade proved to be negative for Africa. Many of the Western African societies had become dependent on the slave trade (Hine, Hine & Harrold, 2011). Looking at the statistics of the slave trade, from 1501-1525 it is estimated that around 13,000 slaves were transported to the Americas (â€Å"The trans-atlantic slave,† 2008). By 1601-1625, over 350,000 slaves were estimated to have been brought to the Americas. At the turn of the 18th century, from 1701-1725, over 1,000,000 slaves were transported from Africa to the Americas. The Atlantic slave trade peaked from 1776-1800 with over 2,000,000 slaves being transported during that time period. The Slave Trade holistically contributed to the enslavement and migration of over 12,500,000 slaves from 1500-1866 (â€Å"The trans-atlantic slave,† 2008). The Atlantic Slave Trade was a horrible series of events that should have never happened. At least we can be optimistic about mankind’s ability to learn from our mistakes and improve our actions.

A Spring Morning at Grandma’s Antique Shop Essay - 1493 Words

The sun catches on the many colors of transparent glass: Forest green, cobalt blue, peachy pink, and amber yellow forms a surrealistic prism around the room. In the swirling colors, Victorian dolls dance. This is the image that comes to mind when I think of a spring morning at Grandma’s Antique Shop. Gravel crunches as I walk toward the old gray house. Above the steps is a baby blue sign that reads Todds Treasures, a hoe and rake form a pyramid over the sign. The steps are wooden and give gently with each quick step I take. The sleigh bells on the door jingles as I open it calling, Hello Grandma. My voice echoes and Grandma says hello from wherever she is, usually the desk. The smell of cinnamon gently envelops me as I step†¦show more content†¦In the window behind the desk are things that are not for sell; these are the most treasured of Todds Treasures, and any family members who visit are sure to study each item. A poster that once hung in the Post Office, where Grandmas Grandmother worked, proclaims Davis Auction Bulletin. In a small frame is a dirty red, white, and blue ribbon on it is July 4,1912 Veteran 1861-65. This ribbon was awarded to my Great Great Great Grandfather, a confederate veteran on the fourth of July in 1912. A yellowed newspaper clipping states Game Warden wounded in gun battle. A black and white photograph of an old black couple is sitting in the windowsill, and a large black and white picture of a family reunion sits hangs on the wall. Near the desk are two chairs, where you can sit and talk to Grandma. Down the middle of the room are three wash stands. On the back one, is a gold Candelabra with angels who hold crystals. Jewelry, pocket watches, arrowheads, old coins, confederate bills, and a tin top are in the display case. On top of it is a tin toy train. It is painted yellow, green, blue and red. Behind the display case, are boards where necklaces and earrings hang. Most of the shelves in this room contain glass items. There are milk white pieces throughout the room; they were produced through the 50s and into the 70s by a potting company in Ohio. There is a beautiful collection of panel grape; grapevines grow all over the white panels of