Crowd phenomena reduce to regressions in individual psyches, not group minds
Evidence
It is one of the most important implications of Freud’s Croup Psychology that he does not recognize an independent, hypostastized ‘mentality of the crowd,’ but reduces the phenomena observed and described by writers such as Le Bon and McDougall to regressions which take place in each one of the individuals who form a crowd and fall under its spell. — Theodor W. Adorno, The Culture Industry, 305
Categorization
Category: Definitional Content
- DEFINE: Defines Freud’s core move in Group Psychology: explaining crowd behavior as individual regression rather than an emergent group mentality — essential mechanical distinction for running Adorno’s analysis.
Related
- Freud explains crowd phenomena as individual regressions, not a group mind (similarity 0.94)
- Crowds arouse sub-individual instincts while organized groups transcend individuals (similarity 0.84)
- Crowd psychology lowers individual responsibility and boosts influence susceptibility (similarity 0.83)
- Freud defined groups by shared object replacing the ego ideal (similarity 0.79)
- Crowds turn psychological when members share perceived antagonism. (similarity 0.79)