London Riots: Factors and Theories

London Riots - Tottenham: Contributing Factors and Explanations

• Triggering Factors: Shooting of Mark Duggan, perceived police discrimination, and cuts to Tottenham services.

Crowd Behavior Theories

• LeBon (1908): Individuals lose rationality and morality in crowds.
• Freud (1921): Crowds unleash unconscious desires.
• McDougall (1920): Crowds are easily swayed and lack self-awareness.

Deindividuation Theory

• Instinctive vs. Societal: Humans possess innate selfish and aggressive tendencies, suppressed by societal norms and identification.
• Anonymity and Loss of Self: Crowds offer anonymity, reducing personal accountability and self-observation. This weakens the constraints of guilt, shame, and fear, leading to impulsive, irrational, and uncontrolled behavior.
• Application: This theory can explain violent behavior in a novel scenario, where anonymity fosters a lack of personal accountability and control.

Stanford Prison Experiment

• Anonymity through Uniform and Role: Prisoners wore smocks and numbers; guards wore uniforms and tinted sunglasses—giving individuals anonymity within their roles.
• Harmful Impact on Behavior: Guards engaged in humiliating punishments; prisoners passively accepted their status.

Sike (2003) Research on Northern Ireland Violence

• Disguises and Aggression: Violence involving disguise (e.g., balaclavas, masks) was more likely to involve serious injuries, property damage, multiple victims, and exile of the victim.
• Intent vs. Anonymity: This suggests disguises don't cause aggression, but may reflect pre-existing intent to engage in these acts while avoiding identification.

Deiner et al. (1976) Trick-or-Treaters Study

• Anonymity and Rule Breaking: Anonymous children were more likely to break rules (taking more candy than allowed) compared to those who had to identify themselves.
• Impact of Group Anonymity: Higher rates of rule-breaking occurred in a group setting where individuals were anonymous.

Deindividuation and London Riots

• Relationship with Anonymity and Diffusion of Responsibility: This theory suggests that the anonymity and diffusion of responsibility within the crowds may cause deindividuation effects.

Anonymity, Identification, and Location

• Conditional Anonymity: Not all disguises offer equal anonymity or impact behavior, depending on a variety of factors and conditions, including those who do not experience an equal degree of anonymity due to clothing.
• Location-Specific Behavior: Riots were confined to specific areas with particular targets; the theory doesn't explain this.

Does Anonymity Always Lead to Aggression?

• Johnson & Downing (1979): Nurses, dressed in nurses' outfits were less aggressive than KKK-attired individuals in administering shocks, even when anonymous. Identification, contrary to the theory, increased aggression among nurses but decreased aggression among the KKK group. This indicates that the role and situation also play a critical role in behavior, challenging the theory's universality.

Social Identity Theory (SIT)

• Motivating Positive Social Identity: Group members seek positive social identity (high self-esteem).
• Negative Social Identity: Low-status or stigmatized groups can develop negative social identities (low self-esteem). This can lead to different ways of adapting group behavior.

SIT and Low Self-Esteem

• Individual Mobility: Leaving the group to join a better perceived group.
• Social Creativity: Focusing on positive attributes of the group.
• Social Competition: Challenging status quo to improve the group's standing.

Social Identity and Crowd Behavior - (SIDE) Model

• Intergroup Conflict and Identity Shift: Crowd situations are intergroup, with "us" versus "them" dynamics. Identity shifts from a focus on personal to social identity within the context of crowds.
• SIDE Model Principles: Deindividuation does not result in a total loss of self but involves a decrease in personal identity focus. Deindividuation makes the individual more susceptible to group norms and context. Deindividuation is neutral regarding external social norms.
• Explaining Crowds through Norms: Crowd behavior is guided by the relevant group norms, and the perceived prototypical properties of the group. It allows for explanation of different behaviors within the same situation because of different group memberships and associated norms.

Group Norms and Content Analysis (Postmes et al 2000)

• Group Dynamics and Language: Online group discussions revealed that groups differed in language use and content (e.g., slang, humor), even if topics were similar.
• Prototypicality and Group Membership: Over time, communication became more prototypical within each group.

Prototypes, Belonging, and Group Norms (Steiner et al 2010)

• Experimentation with Group Norms: The study showed that prototypical group members behaved more in line with group norms than peripheral members (regardless of perceived need to belong). High need-to-belong peripheral members aligned more with prototypical behavior than peripheral members with low need to belong
• Individual Differences and Belonging: It also indicated a relationship between one's perceived prototypicality or outsider status and their adherence to group norms; need to belong is one factor.

SIDE Model Explanation of London Riots

• Outgroup Targets: Riots directed towards outgroups (police, government, symbols of affluence) reflecting "us" versus "them" dynamics.
• Group Identification and Location-Specific Action: Riots were contained in areas where people identified with a group, perceived as low status, and group norms influenced behavior. Group norms were highly pertinent to explaining and contextualising the rioting.

SIDE Model Critique

• Failure to Explain All Behaviors: Doesn't fully explain the actions of all individuals (e.g., "middle class" looting), possibly due to broader rebellious group norms.

Comparison of Deindividuation and SIT

• Overlap and Differences: Briefly compare and contrast the two theories to showcase their complementary and contrasting aspects; focusing on how SIT explains crowd behavior from a group and normative perspective and deindividuation focuses on how individuals behave in a social environment.

The Influence of SIT and Radio 4 Podcast on Riot Prevention

• Rethinking Hooliganism as Crowd Behavior: Clifford Stott (and subsequent podcasts) moved away from the notion of inherent "hooliganism" to a focus on observing crowd behavior as structured, pattern-driven, and understandable.
• Communicating and Understanding Crowd Perceptions: Stott stressed the importance of understanding how individuals within a crowd perceive their own actions and police responses to minimize further conflicts and prevent escalations.
• Importance of Police-Community Relations: Building trust and positive relationships between police and citizens before incidents is crucial for conflict mitigation and de-escalation.