Following the crowd

“Is it some kind of strange “herd instinct” which makes certain people gravitate to where others are sitting, even when there’s acres of empty space elsewhere?”

The above is lifted straight from my recent post about a “Hungry Horse” breakfast. It describes a situation which I’m sure strikes a chord with many people, as it is something which many of us can relate to.

Regular correspondent Etu describes a similar situation in a large and almost deserted car-park, where his desire for a spot of shut-eye, and some fresh air, was disturbed by the hooting of another motorist who wished to park right next to him, despite there being acres of space either side.

This herding instinct isn’t just prevalent in car-parks; a work colleague told me of a similar situation where him and his wife, desiring both peace and a bit of space, parked their campervan at the furthermost extremity of a virtually empty campsite. After setting up camp, they went off for an exploratory walk, finding to their horror, when they returned to their vehicle, that a family had set up camp right next to them.

The “family” came complete with several noisy and energetic children – nothing that untoward there, except for the fact that my colleague’s wife hates kids! What made the situation worse,  especially for her, was there were no other tents or vans within  that particular field.

So what is it that makes some people want to get as close to others as humanly possible? What is it that makes them want to stick like glue to their fellow human beings?

“Herd mentality” (also known as mob mentality) describes a behaviour in which people act in the same way, or adopt similar behaviours as the people around them — often ignoring their own feelings in the process. Think of a sheep blindly following the flock no matter where they go "just because that’s what the herd is doing."

A study conducted by researchers at the University of Leeds found that humans flock like sheep and birds, subconsciously following a minority of individuals. The study showed that it takes a minority of just five per cent to influence a crowd's direction - and that the other 95 per cent follow without even realising it.

I don’t want to go into too much depth regarding the reasons behind this type of behaviour, as there are a host of psychological and perhaps survival factors at play here. However, whilst I can understand it in crowds situations, where there are strong parallels between animal grouping behaviour and human crowds, it doesn’t really explain why, when you’re sitting in a virtually empty pub enjoying a quiet drink, either on your own, or as a couple, other member of the human race will come along and plonk themselves down, right next to you!

Several years ago, my wife and I attended a performance by the legendary Kaiser Chiefs at Bedgebury Forest. Dressed in our warmest concert-going gear (it can be quite cold during the evening in the Great British outdoors – even in June), we took our picnic chairs, and picnic along and staked out a nice little spot with a good view of the stage, but not too close. We left, what we thought was a reasonable amount of space between ourselves and the people in front of us.

As might be expected, people were gradually occupying the space behind us, but this apparently, was not good enough for two families and their assorted off-spring who squeezed themselves into the space in front of us whilst behaving like prats for the duration of the concert – on the phone talking loudly to their mates, taking “selfies” of themselves against the backdrop of the Kaiser Chiefs performance.

This is a nightmarish scenario for many people, especially where there is no escape. For some time now, Mrs PBT’s and I have been contemplating a cruise, but for my good lady wife having our space invaded by the proverbial “couple from hell”, is a prime factor in convincing herself that cruising is not for her. This is despite my assurances that a cruise-liner is sufficiently large to be able to escape, and indeed hide, from such boorish individuals.

So next time you are out enjoying a quiet drink, or perhaps admiring the view from a local beauty spot, keep an eye out, as you may well find you are not alone!