Criminologist Professor John Pitts asserts that looting makes “powerless people suddenly feel powerful” and that is “very intoxicating”
The riots provided a reversal of what young people have always been told- those in authority will punish them if they do something wrong. Then they rebel and nothing happens straight away, can ‘get away with it’
The numbers of looters and rioters is important- Dr James Thompson [honorary senior lecturer in psychology at UCL] asserts: “Morality is inversely proportional to the number of observers. When you have a large group that’s relatively anonymous, you can essentially do anything you like” This is down to “safety in numbers”.
Psychologist Dr Lance Workman says that some rioters may adopt an ad hoc moral philosophy on the lines of “these rich people have things I don’t have so it’s only right that I take it”
Also says that there is evidence that most gang leaders have psychopathic tendencies (i.e. lack of empathy, no feelings of guilt).
For most looters, the main motivation is the thrill, with the free goods as a bonus. However, ringleaders will manipulate the mob to target high-value shops.
The ‘mob mentality’ of the riots has been compared to football hooliganism.
Dr Paul Bagguley, a sociologist at the University of Leeds says that whilst looting occurs in most riots, it has dominated the August riots, and they could be called the ‘consumer society riots’.
He says that there is a context however- one being that high price goods are easier to loot now (such as phones), but also “for a lot of looters, it’s just opportunity but it also expresses a sense of, how else am I going to get all these things?”
The riots, according to most psychologists, cannot be seen as “just thuggery” and must be seen against a backdrop of “growing discontents” about youth unemployment, education opportunities and income disparities.
Most of the rioters are from poor estates and have no “stake in conformity” (Pitts) and who have nothing to lose.
Professor Pitts says: “They have no career to think about. They are not ‘us’. They live out there on the margins, enraged, disappointed, and capable of doing some awful things.”
Jason Nier, associate professor of psychology at Connecticut College highlighted two key aspects of social psychology found in the riots:
Deindividuation: Our behaviour is usually guided by our own identity and values which tells us not to do certain things, e.g. stealing. However, in some situations we may take on the values of a group, making our own internal norms and values less salient
Emergent norm theory: Most people involved had probably never been in a riot before, and were unaware of what the appropriate behaviour was. So if other people are looting it suggests it’s normal (and something they can get away with
Forensic psychologist Kay Nooney takes a slightly different stance on the riots, saying that “These people aren’t interested in tuition fees. In constituency, it’s most like a prison riot: what will happen is that…nobody will ever know exactly, but a rumour will emanate…there will be some form of moral outrage that takes its expression in self-interested revenge. There is no higher purpose; you just have a high volume of people with a history of impulsive behaviour, having a great adventure.”
Of course, the fact that young people who aren’t even in prison are behaving as if they have nothing to lose and can act as they want leads to some serious psychological questions (as asserted by Prof. Pitts).
Sources: ‘UK riots: what turns people into looters?’ by Tom de Castella and Caroline McClatchey 09/08/2011 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-14463452)
‘The UK riots: the psychology of looting’ by Zoe Williams in The Guardian 09/08/2011
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