Sociology

Introduction

Crowds at sporting events, concerts, and political rallies can be enormous. You might only know the folks you came with when you attend one of these events. Nonetheless, you might get a sense of belonging to the group. You belong to the group. When other people applaud and cheer, you do the same. You shout and jeer with them. When someone has to pass, you move out of the way, and when you have to leave, you say "excuse me". You are aware of how to act in this type of gathering. 








If you are traveling in a foreign nation and find yourself among a crowd going down the street, it might be a completely different sensation. It could be difficult for you to understand what is going on. Is the crowd just the morning rush as usual, or is there some sort of political demonstration going on? Maybe there was some type of mishap or catastrophe. Are you secure in this gathering, or should you make an effort to leave? How can you learn more about what's happening? Even though you are a part of it, you might not feel like you belong. You can be clueless about what to do or how to act.  

 Several groups exist and diverse behaviors are displayed even within one type of crowd. For instance, at a rock event, some people could love singing along, others would want to sit and watch, while yet others might decide to participate in a mosh pit or try crowd surfing. At the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, Sydney Crosby scored the game-winning goal for Canada against the American team on February 28, 2010. To celebrate and end two weeks of unusually vivid, cheerful street life in Vancouver, 300,000 jubilant people crowded the streets of downtown Vancouver. The seventh hockey game of the Stanley Cup finals between the Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins ended in a loss for Vancouver on June 15, 2011, just over a year later. On outside screens, 100,000 spectators had been watching the game. The city streets eventually became crowded with 155,000 people. Several people were hurt during rioting and looting, which also resulted in burned cars, vandalized stores, and approximately $4.2 million worth of property damage. Why did the audience's reactions to the two occurrences differ so much?