Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-04-13
Guiding the Mob Mind

stances lnLelleCC taxes n0uQay, ana
educated and otherwise sane people will
believe almost any absurd story that Is
ladled out to them.
To produce mobilize reaction, how
ever, an idea must be concrete and, II
possible, personalized. Those who make
a business of raising funds for philan-
thropic purposes know, for instance.
that 1t Is a waste of time to make a
general appeal for money for scientific
research; such funds are given by men
or women in moments of individual and
highly rationalized thinking. In order
to get a broad response drive must
have some definite, visual object-or-
phaned children, lonely girls in a great
city, homeless flood victims, starving
Chinese.
The third great force which draws
people together in mobS is the kind of
narciSSan which creates artists colo
MES, writer's colonies, free love colo
MES, religious communities, Latin quar-
tiers, Greenwich villages and all similar
gatherings Of people with the same
points OF view. They justify their own
opinions by grouping themselves with
those who think as they do.
This same kind OF mob spirit eX-
plains our willingness to be standard
lied. We like to look around us and
see our own qualities, our own opinions
repeated in others. 1t gives us sense
of rightneSs and security. We are
afraid of being different, of thinking
and acting independently of the herd,
because different people run the risk
OF being destroyed.
Only two classes of people are differ
ent-the leaders, who control the crowd
and the criminals and weaklings, whom
the crowd annihilateS Sometimes the
distinction between tne, TWO classes is
very narrow; a single throw of the dice
may decide whether a man will be re-
garded by the crowd as a weakling or
a leader.
Most of us are afraid to go into I'M
known situations because of this same
fear Of being different. Politicians, who
may be defined as men with a super
knowledge of crowd psychology, always
hurrah for something that is thoroughly
obvious.
Thus we see that an understanding
of how the mob reacts and the con-
science to use that understanding in
telligently is an increasingly important
moral obligation-not to say an i'm
portant side of business efficiency. An
excellent example of this latter fact is
the play, "Abie's Irish Rose" Manager
after manager, reading this piece in the
privacy of his Office or his home, and
reading 1t as an individual, regarded 1t
as silly and tnconsequential-and turn
ed it down. When finally produced by
the author, it was, of course, the most
sensational theatrical success of this
century. Why did the producers not
realize its possibilities? The answer
is suggested by lie Bon's comment on a
similar surprise, "Charley's Aunt" The
plays effect on a crowd-a theater au-
dience-could not be judged by its
effect on individual readers.
The "Abie's Irish Rose" audiences, a
large percentage Of whom were probably
Jewish or Irish, were flattered and
pleased by the theme of the play. This
common pleasure welded them into q
herd state of mind increasing their
suggeStibility. They therefore received
the piece at its own valuation, passed
on the word of praise to friends, VINO
reacted similarly, and once the wave OF
popularity had started the force Of Sug-
geStion carried it across the country.
Those who succeed today are those
who understand the elements of leader
ship. A good leader, for example, real
ICES that the crowd must have its nlu-
Sions, and that it will not permanently
follow the man who insists on taking
them away-a fact which apparently is
of Soviet Russia, but is very, very clear
to the publishers of Pollyanna books
and similar fairy tales.
Those skillful students of the mob
mind, the writer's of advertising copy,
know that statement, repeated suff1-
cient number of times, creates cur
rent of opinion and is finally accepted
as fact. Most professional people I'M
derstand that prestige is another work
able means of paralyzipg the judgment
of the herd and making it responsive TO
suggestion, which explains the effective
ness of full dress uniforms, judges
robes, titles, social registers. big names"
and the furnishings of the boss
Office.
The psychology of mass suggestion
presents us in the final analysis with q
new tool for raising the ethical stand
ards of mankind by improving the quail
ity of its leadership. 1t may be posi-
BILE that the public will in time become
educated to the point where it will be
able to see the emptiness of political
ballyhoo and will, therefore, refuse to
follow the leader who cannot, intellectu-
ally keep a good many jumps ahead OF
the crowd. Improved leadership and a
more intelligent choice of leaders can
not help but bring about a higher set
of social values.