Humans are social animals and we gain social support and comfort from others. Being in a crowd is a lot more than a reminder that there are others to help if need be. We are designed to feel a level of heightened physical arousal where we are in a crowd. Whether we want to or not, our sensory system iwws on alert when we are in a big group and that actually feels good.This activation of the nervous system is protective, of course.
We are nonconsciously monitoring our surroundings for threats, and having a lot of people around means a lot more monitoring. In fact, we are so used to this subliminal monitoring that when we are alone and quiet, that difference in general arousal level can be noticeable. This physiological arousal seems to explain a phenomenon called social facilitation. The presence of others can increase our own behavior.
We rely on the behavior of others to give more meaning to our own experiences.
This is even more the case when we are unsure of how to react or how we feel. Watching a play and the characters speak a line that could be a joke? The crowd laughing gives you the information you need to laugh too. In a great example of this, researchers gave people a shot of adrenaline that increased their arousal level and had them sit in the presence of another person (who was a paid actor). The participants who got the shot were not told the effects of the shot and when they felt their hearts beating faster they would not be sure what caused it. In one condition, the actors pretended to be angry. In another condition, the actors pretended to be happy. The participants reported the corresponding emotion. They used the actors to interpret their own feelings and actually labeled them according to what they saw the actor playing.
As we all look forward to going back to a sports stadium, perhaps to cheer on our favorite football team, having many people around us also cheering along will make us all feel much much better. There is a reason many post-apocalyptic movies featuring crowdless solitary explorations are unnerving. There are reasons why teams like to play in front of a home crowd. There are reasons why we have all missed it so much. The physical and psychological `boosts of a crowd are hard to do without. If you see someone doing something you would like to do, you are more likely to act according to your own desires if a crowd is there, as opposed to if you are on your own.
It’s harder to break out of my patterns when you are not competing with other people.
One reason that crowds make a difference is that we often rely on the behavior of others to give more meaning to our own experiences.
Some studies found that people living in crowded environments indeed showed a variety of social pathologies, just like Calhoun’s rats. But other studies did not. Reviews of the early research concluded that popular fears about overcrowding may be unfounded. Now half a century has passed, and the world population has doubled. On the other hand, research on the psychological effects of density has all but disappeared. In the mid-20th century ethologist John Calhoun wanted to see how overcrowding would influence social behavior in rats. He placed rat s in a confined space and allowed them to multiply with relatively little control. The results looked like scenes out of a horror movie: cannibalism, dead infants and complete social withdrawal, to name a few. Calhoun’s rats captured public imagination and inspired a surge of research on the psychological effects of density in our own species.
A low-density environment favors a fast strategy because it is presumed to have abundant resources with little social competition. Here fast reproduction would allow for full exploitation of the environment’s resources. Animals living in low-density environments also would not need to invest much in offspring, because it would be easy for those offspring to survive independently in such an environment. But things get different when the environment gets crowded and strong social competition for resources and territory exists. To successfully compete, individuals now need to spend more time and energy building their own abilities. This often leads to a delay in reproduction. In a dense environment, one’s offspring also face greater social competition. Hence, it may be more adaptive to focus time and energy on just a few offspring (to increase their abilities and competitiveness) instead of spreading resources over many offspring.
-Too many people. Too much stimulation. Too many details, too many things that demand your attention. Too many emotions freely flowing in between people. Everything overstimulating (me). For half an hour, fine. Not so fine for many hours. Observing a crowd from a distane, very fine. Being in the centre of it, a pure hell
-Empty, cold and distant. Became like that in public school. Very seldom spoke when spoken to, people seem to be mean and nasty toward another in large groups, look at how many fights happen in night/ dance clubs. Its easier and safer just to keep your distance from strangers other wise you might end up dead in the trunk of their car and found in a ditch months later.
anything I did or said, my stepdad made us eat a certain way, and I could never just be me. I was always worried that I was doing something wrong and I felt like everyone was watching me. I mean, I couldn’t even walk or run without someone making fun of me for it. So I can’t help but feel like everyone’s just ganging up on me and judging me.
-I have horrible social anxiety. I can’t even normally in a restaurant if it’s full. The last time
I was in a crowd, I went to anime-con and my and I were doing a raf fle. I started at the edge of a small crowd but fore I could do anything,
-Depends on how disciplined and organized the crowd is, and how concerned they are about their convenience and of others,and mindful,thoughtful of how they are causing discomfort to others.Unruly, indisciplined, and chaotic crowds are always a pain in the anatomy for anyone .
-I like to avoid crowds and crowded places. I enjoy beautiful places when people are the peace, beauty and solice and, of course, my photographs. When I dine out I hate ruining
it being too crowded i pick my times when there are less people.
-My answer is going to very different from everyone else as I am a very large 6 foot 5 inch 380 pound mean looking man so people tend to move away from me even in a crowd. I find crowds
when I was in my twenties I took my younger brother to the movies every Saturday afternoon at the mall. As we walked to the theater the people would part before us and even in line people would press against others. Being able to look over the heads of most people I never feel crowded and as for my size I have a 22-inch neck a 64-inch chest and 50 inch waist and I wear a size 15 shoe. The only time I ever felt small or intimidated was when I shook hands with André the Giant but then again who wouldn’t?
Social anxiety and shyness can appear to be somewhat similar. Shy people tend to be uncomfortable in crowds or in opening up to others. People dealing with social anxiety may appear somewhat shy or introverted. They may appear quiet or withdrawn. Whereas shyness may be a personality trait, social anxiety may have been triggered by traumatic experiences. Someone who was once outgoing and gregarious might be finding that they now struggle with social situations. They begin to feel anxious and nervous about going to crowded spaces or participating in social events. The anxiety that they are experiencing may be diminishing their quality of life as they are now avoiding social obligations or everyday tasks involving people. Social anxiety may be due to an overactive nervous system caused by trauma. When a person has an overactive nervous system, they become sensitive to stimulation and may become overwhelmed easily. Crowded rooms, public spaces, or even gatherings with
friends can be highly stimulating. Our brains are processing information from the noise of crowds or from the conversations we are engaging in. We may begin to feel anxiety as our threshold for stimulation is maxed out due to feeling on high-alert constantly. Trauma can cause us to feel edgy and overstimulated in social or public situations. Adding an amount of extra sensory input from the environment can be too much.
By addressing the underlying causes of our social anxiety, like trauma, we can begin to calm our nervous system and keep it from overloading among groups of people.
At a time when it feels as if acts of mass violence are happening all too often, it’s no wonder why Americans are experiencing record high levels of stress and anxiety these days. And if the growing number of terror attacks in recent years has you suddenly feeling anxious in crowded spaces, trust us: You are not alone. In fact, in January 2017, the American Psychological Association found that Americans are statistically more stressed than ever before, thanks in no small part to the fear of being under attack and anxiety about threats of terrorism.Whether you’re in a church, a movie theater, a school, or at a concert, the unfortunate reality is that it feels like there are truly no safe spaces anymore, and that fear can leave you feeling understandably anxious to even leave the house, let alone attend an event with big crowds.If you find yourself avoiding travel or certain events, or going anyway but feeling uneasy, or even suffering from panic attacks as a result, you may be suffering from ochlophobia. With the unrelenting news cycle these days and the perceived threat of terror everywhere we go, it’s no surprise why more and more people are feeling afraid to go about their normal activities, from riding mass transit to work to going to concerts. Like many forms of anxiety, the fear of crowds and public places has multiple layers, which makes it difficult to combat with one simple strategy.
Social anxiety can be difficult to deal with. We may feel as though we cannot be around other people and begin to withdraw from friends and social obligations. Social anxiety can affect our ability to work or lead fulfilling social lives. We may begin to feel lonely and isolated, yet unsure of what to do to manage our symptoms. Avoiding situations due to social anxiety is not about avoiding people–it is a negative way of dealing with our anxiety. Avoiding the anxiety caused by overstimulation in crowds is what our true motivation is. If we are feeling anxious in social situations due to past experiences of trauma, we are dealing with nervous systems that are over-reactive. By learning to calm our nervous systems to be in less of a high-alert state, we can begin to tolerate social situations again.
How do we see the
the world around us?