NEXT TALK: Next talk 31st of October, 7pm - Sesonal mood disorders
Cittie Of Yorke, 22 High Holborn, WC1V 6BN
"Don't panic!" debunking some common myths about crowd behaviour
2012/11/12
In this talk I will cover historical backgrounds to psychological theories of crowd behaviour and how they have developed into the Social Identity Model, which is currently the dominant approach in the study of the psychology of crowd behaviour. I will show how early models that argued for the inherent irrationality of crowds are flawed, not only because they reflect a negative ideological bias, but also because they are not supported by current empirical studies of crowd behaviour over the last 30 years by social psychologists. I will illustrate my points with examples of crowd behaviour from public order situations & mass emergencies, and discuss the implications for crowd management strategies, such as public order policing and emergency planning.
Chris Cocking‘s interests are in the psychology of crowd behaviour (particularly during mass emergencies), collective resilience and post disaster psycho-social support. He has also worked in the crowd management sector, consulting on crowd behaviour at large events in the South East. He also advises on emergency planning, and is a visiting speaker at the Cabinet Office Emergency Planning College. Other one-off consultations he has provided have been for the London Resilience Team (part of the Government Office for London), and the Greater London Assembly (where he contributed to their report into the 7/7 terrorist bombings). Along with colleagues, he has had his research findings published in various peer-reviewed academic and applied journals. He is also a qualified Psychiatric Nurse with experience of working in Child and Adolescent Mental Health.
