Crowd and Collective Behaviour » Prosocial Behaviour in Crowds

What you'll learn this session

Study time: 30 minutes

Definition and characteristics of prosocial behaviour in crowds
Factors that influence helping behaviour in group settings
Key psychological theories explaining prosocial crowd behaviour
Real-world examples and case studies of positive crowd actions
The relationship between social identity and helping others in crowds
How to evaluate research on prosocial crowd behaviour

Introduction to Prosocial Behaviour in Crowds

When we think about crowds, we often imagine chaos, panic, or violence. But crowds can also show amazing kindness and cooperation. Prosocial behaviour in crowds refers to the positive, helpful actions that groups of people take to benefit others, often in challenging situations.

Key Definitions:

Prosocial behaviour: Voluntary actions intended to help or benefit another person or group.
Collective behaviour: How people think, feel and act in unstructured social situations like crowds.
Bystander effect: The tendency for people to be less likely to help when others are present.
Social identity: A person's sense of who they are based on their group membership.

👥 Types of Prosocial Crowd Behaviour

Prosocial crowd behaviour can take many forms:

Helping: Directly assisting others in need (rescuing, first aid)
Sharing: Giving resources to those who need them
Comforting: Providing emotional support
Cooperation: Working together to achieve common goals
Volunteering: Giving time and effort to help others

💡 When Do Crowds Help?

Research shows crowds are more likely to help when:

The situation is clearly an emergency
People feel personally responsible
They have the skills to help
The costs of helping seem low
They identify with those in need
Leaders or others set a helping example

Psychological Theories of Prosocial Crowd Behaviour

Several psychological theories help explain why crowds sometimes act in helpful, cooperative ways rather than selfishly or destructively.

Social Identity Theory

Developed by Tajfel and Turner (1979), this theory suggests that when people are in crowds, they often shift from thinking about themselves as individuals to thinking about themselves as group members. This shared identity can promote helping behaviour.

👤 Personal Identity

"I am a unique individual with my own goals and needs"

👥 Social Identity

"I am part of this group and share its values and goals"

🤝 Result

When social identity is strong, people help others they see as part of their group

The Elaborated Social Identity Model (ESIM)

This model, developed by Reicher and others, explains how crowd members develop a sense of shared identity that guides their behaviour. When people in a crowd share a social identity, they're more likely to help each other and cooperate.

For example, football fans might help a fellow supporter who falls over, even if they don't know them personally, because they share the same social identity as fans of that team.

Case Study Focus: 2017 Manchester Arena Bombing

After the terrorist attack at the Ariana Grande concert in 2017, many examples of prosocial behaviour emerged from the crowd:

Strangers sheltered young people who were separated from their parents
Taxi drivers turned off their meters to give free rides home
Local residents offered accommodation to those stranded
People queued for hours to donate blood

This shows how a shared identity (as Mancunians or simply as humans facing a tragedy) can lead to widespread helping behaviour, even among strangers.

Factors Influencing Prosocial Behaviour in Crowds

👍 Factors That Increase Helping

Shared identity: Feeling part of the same group
Clear need: Obvious that help is required
Competence: Having skills to help effectively
Leadership: Someone taking charge and directing others
Prior planning: Emergency procedures in place
Empathy: Understanding others' feelings

👎 Barriers to Helping

Diffusion of responsibility: Assuming others will help
Pluralistic ignorance: Looking to others to define the situation
Evaluation apprehension: Fear of being judged
Ambiguity: Unclear if help is needed
Bystander effect: Less likely to help when others are present
Cost of helping: Personal risk or inconvenience

Overcoming the Bystander Effect in Crowds

The bystander effect (Latané and Darley, 1968) suggests that the more people present in an emergency, the less likely any individual is to help. However, recent research shows that in real-life emergencies, crowds often do help. Here's why:

Shared identity: When people feel connected to others in need, the bystander effect is reduced
Clear emergencies: In obvious emergencies, the presence of others can actually increase helping
Coordination: Crowds can coordinate their efforts, with different people taking on different helping roles
Competence: Those with relevant skills are more likely to step forward

Research Spotlight: Levine & Crowther (2008)

This study found that the bystander effect (being less likely to help when others are present) disappeared when bystanders shared a social identity with the victim. In fact, when bystanders shared an identity with the person in need, increasing group size actually increased helping behaviour!

This challenges the traditional view of the bystander effect and shows the importance of social identity in crowd helping behaviour.

Real-World Examples of Prosocial Crowd Behaviour

🌋 Natural Disasters

After earthquakes, floods and hurricanes, crowds often spontaneously organize to search for survivors, share resources and provide comfort to victims.

🏆 Sporting Events

Fans have been known to help each other during emergencies at stadiums, regardless of which team they support.

🏠 Community Emergencies

Local communities often rally together after tragedies, offering accommodation, food and emotional support.

Evaluating Research on Prosocial Crowd Behaviour

When studying prosocial behaviour in crowds, researchers face several challenges:

Ethical issues: Cannot create real emergencies for research purposes
Ecological validity: Lab studies may not reflect real-world crowd behaviour
Retrospective accounts: Relying on memories after events can be unreliable
Cultural differences: Helping norms vary across cultures

Modern research often uses multiple methods to overcome these limitations:

Analysing CCTV footage of real emergencies
Interviewing people who were present during emergencies
Using virtual reality to simulate crowd situations
Cross-cultural studies to understand universal helping principles

Application to Real Life

Understanding prosocial crowd behaviour has practical applications:

Emergency planning: Designing evacuation procedures that work with natural crowd helping tendencies
Event management: Training stewards to encourage prosocial behaviour
Public messaging: Creating emergency messages that activate shared identities
Community resilience: Building community networks that can activate during crises

By understanding what makes crowds help each other, we can design better systems that save lives during emergencies.

Summary: Key Points About Prosocial Behaviour in Crowds

Crowds often behave in helpful, cooperative ways, contrary to popular stereotypes
Shared social identity is a powerful driver of helping behaviour in crowds
The bystander effect can be overcome when people feel connected to those in need
Clear emergencies, competence and leadership all increase helping in crowds
Understanding prosocial crowd behaviour helps us design better emergency responses
Real-world examples show crowds spontaneously organizing to help during crises

Remember that crowds aren't inherently dangerous or chaotic - they can be powerful forces for good when people share a sense of identity and purpose.

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