The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-03-30
WHY YOU YELL.
Prof. George Vincent Analyses
Acts of Crowds.
Discusses Peculiar Actions of
People at Ball Games.
THEY ARE HYPNOTIZED
Likewise Those Who Attend
Political Meetings.
The Influence of Average Crowd
Is Downward.

Did you ever stop to think what
makes you get enthusiastic in heated
political campaign, or what makes you
get excited in a close baseball game
when your team gets a little ahead?
Prof. George Z. Vincent, of Chicago.
discussed that proposition in his lee
ture at the Auditorium last evening.
He says it is because people become
partially hypnotized. It is a psyche
logical question, and the psychologists
who have studied it have come to the
conclusion that the partial hypnosis
theory is correct. Political spellbind-
ers, patent medicine street takers. and
other public speakers manipulate
their audiences in the same way.
Prof. Vincent is a son of Bishop
Vincent. who made his home in To-
peka for a number of years and who
is we'll known here. Bishop Vincent
Is recognized as one of the best lee
turers on the American platform, and
the son is a chip off of the old block,
tally up to the original His lecture
was a Psychological one. and you can
imagine how interested the average
person would make a lecture of that
kind. but Prof. Vincent had the earn
est attention of every one of the 700
persons who heard him last night for
an hour and a half
He calls his lecture 1.-The Mind of
the Mob. In introducing the SUBJECT
he told of the study of the mob pSy-
chologists'' in seeking an explanation
for the actions of people who act In
crowds. He told of the dignified Mr.
Brown who is a staid and sober citizen,
but who goes to a baseball game one
day. Mr.. Brown becomes interested
an his home team. As the team makes
runs his enthusiasm warns, ana When
the other side gets ahead he becomes
depressed. In the last half of the
ninth inning the score stands five TO
four for the visitors Ihere are Two /
outs and two men on bases IhlnSs
are looking pretty bad for the home
team, and there is deep undercur-
rent of excitement Then Casey comes
TO the bat and at a critical point lines |
out home run and turns defeat into |
victory Instantly the sober, dignified |
Mr.. Brown leaps to his feet. yeiIing /
like a mailman. He is another Brown 4
an emotional Mr.. Brown He hugs
all of his neighbors that he can get I
his arms around He puts his silk hat
on the end of his umbrella and waves /
It frantiCally. Two hours later ne Is
sitting quietly in his home giving non /
conmittal answers to the questions /
OF his children Why did Brown act
Prof. Vincent then told of the po- /
litfcaI rally There is a brass band
and a big audience has gathered IN /
expectation of hearing the great spell /
binder. The committee on applause /
has been stationed in various parts OF 4
the great hall to provide for the /
spontaneous uprising of the people
IF you want to have a spontaneous /
uprising OF the people arrive on sched- I
ule time said the lecturer, you must /
provide for it in advance"
AT the proper moment the band
commence to play lively air and /
three figures appear at one of the /
doors, which the crowd is expectantly I
watching One of them is the great
spenbinder. The committee on APP /
plause takes its cue and starts a great
ion wildly 7
At a missionary convention at Old
Orchard, Ne. once a crowd of people /
who had an average tight hand on /
their pOcketbOOks. after hearing an /
address by returned missionary, /
gave $40, coo for missions. Men took /
watches from their pockets and women 1
stripped their fingers of rings and
threw them on the collection plates
Up at Chicago an audience ~Of 5000 /
women ga ehered to hear Paderewski. /
They were held sDelbOund by the mu- J
sic and refused to let the great pianist
go until some men came in and took /
the piano out bodily.
Prof Vincent told these incidents in |
detail as illustrating what a crowd will !
sometimes do wheh acting in unison /
He referred to historical events-the |
crusades and like events. He told of
The Jumbo craze in London when the /
late Mr. Barnum worked the London I
press for some free advertising about 1
Jumbo and for ten days London went /
Wild over Jumbo. Pictures of Jumbo /
were everywhere. One minister preach /
ed a sermon on Jumbo Children were I
T1amed after him. and 1900 boxes of /
buns were sent to the big elephant with /
personal letters.
Every crowd is not psychological /
crowd, Prof Vincent said. "A psychology
zeal crowd has four characteristics.
In it there is concentration of atten-
ton, each person is off guard as to his /
individuality, the central attitude to- /
yards life disappears, and the psyche
logical crowd is "suggestible' capable |
Of receiving suggestions
The lecturere told of an experiment
made by psychologist in which a !
young man was hyDnotised and told /
that when person entered the room /
the gas Then he was ava kened from
his hypnosis. and the subject and hyp-
notsst conversed together The subject /
had no recollection of anything that had !
been told him But the minute that a |
person entered the room he arose and /
lighted the gas. although the room was |
already lighted When asked why he |
did it he sheepishly said ne did not
Know. but that the idea just came into |
MS mind to do il. A second and third /
time the same impression came to him /
when persons entered the room.
This, Prof. Vincent explained. is sup !
posed TO be the lower self asserting it !
self over the higher self of the dual
Personality He then elaborated on the |
arts of the spellbinder, telling how the I
patent medicine vendor on the street /
corner describes certain symptoms un- |
III 30 out of so men in his audience viii /
put their hands to their backs to feel 1
the pain. eve done it myself said /
Prof. Vincent The political meeting /
was again described and how the SMELL
binder works on his audience. mingline /
snecdote with argument, and driving /