THIS PAPER IS AN INQUIRY INTO THE PSYCHOLOGY OF CROWDS, ESPEcially in relation to states of stress and crisis. The basic considerations are common to almost all crowds, whether these have assembled for religious purposes, for sports events, for circus performances, or in the interest of political or patriotic aims. But once there is a sense of stress, danger or potential crisis, new elements in the crowd situation arise, which complicate and exacerbate conditions within the crowd, and may be followed by lasting and seemingly abrupt changes in crowd members.

This is a subject which naturally focuses on the present times, especially the last decade, with its overt beginning marked in this