Crowd psychology, also known as
mob psychology, is a branch of
social psychology. Social psychologists have developed several theories for explaining the ways in which the
psychology of a crowd differs from and interacts with that of the individuals within it. Major theorists in crowd psychology include
Gustave Le Bon,
Gabriel Tarde,
Sigmund Freud, and
Steve Reicher. This field relates to the behaviors and thought processes of both the individual crowd members and the crowd as an entity. Crowd behavior is heavily influenced by the loss of responsibility of the individual and the impression of universality of behavior, both of which increase with the size of the crowd.