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The Psychology of Cruel Crowds
Evil is not only tyrants. It is also ordinary people in groups. Here is what the science says and what to do next.
Faraz Ali
October 25, 2025
We imagine evil as a few famous villains. Research shows ordinary people can become harmful in crowds, online, or under authority. The causes are predictable and fixable. A few small habits make compassion easier than cruelty.
Evil rarely begins with blood. It begins with laughter at the wrong moment and silence at the right one.
A short scene
A teenager sits on a ledge. A firefighter pleads for her to step back. Below, a crowd gathers. Some film. A few shout. Most say nothing. One person reaches. Hundreds watch. This is not a story about monsters. It is a story about mechanisms that nudge decent people toward bad choices and how to push the mind back toward care.
Why ordinary people become cruel
Diffusion of responsibility
When many people are present, each person feels less responsible. Help rates drop as group size grows. The quiet thought is common: someone else will do it.
Deindividuation
Anonymity in a crowd or behind a username makes us feel less like ourselves. When we feel unseeable we ignore personal rules and copy what others do.
Obedience and roles
Under authority or rigid roles people can harm while believing they are doing the right thing or just doing their job.
Moral disengagement
Language helps us dodge guilt. We call harm a joke, hide behind policy, or decide the target deserves it.
Social identity pressure
When group identity is loud we mirror group norms to fit in, even bad ones. A chant can carry a person farther than they planned.
Spectacle economics
Pain becomes content. Content rewards shock. Attention acts like oxygen and keeps harmful behavior burning.
7 habits that turn spectators into helpers
Name the moment
Quietly label what you see in your head. This is diffusion of responsibility. Naming breaks the spell and restores agency.Point and recruit
Turn a crowd into a team. You in the red jacket call emergency services. You please give space. Specific asks get action.Use your phone for help not spectacle
Call first. If recording protects the vulnerable do it from a distance and do not post for entertainment.Carry a micro script
Short lines you can say under stress reduce hesitation. This is not safe. I am calling for help. Please step back.Make calm eye contact with the person in trouble
Human contact lowers panic and says I am with you.Refuse the cheap laugh
Do not smile at humiliation. Your face sets a local norm and others copy it.Choose tribes that allow dissent
If your group punishes compassion change groups or be the first to defect.
The harder question
Do not ask what you would have done in history class. Ask what you did last week when someone was mocked or ignored. Character is local and daily. You do not need to be a hero. You need to be first by one small step. Others usually follow.
What to do next
Save the seven habits and review once this week
Practice one micro script out loud today
In your chat or office be the first to say not funny when a joke lands on someone’s dignity
Teach a kid or colleague what the bystander effect is and role play a response
Unfollow accounts that turn pain into entertainment
Have you ever stepped in when a crowd stayed silent |
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