19th century Russian research about collective behavior

Abstract

In the 19th century, collective behavior or crowd psychology was given a broad interest in psychiatric research. But until today the focus had always been on French, English or German publications neglecting the comprehensive Russian research that exists. That's why, the authors wish to elaborate 19th century Russian points of view on crowd psychology.Our research revealed that most of the Russian authors discussed imitation, suggestion, and hereditary predisposition - as did their colleagues in the West. Contrary to that, the 1881 monograph by Viktor Kandinsky could be regarded as an outstanding work because it presents an independent hypothesis on crowd psychology. Kandinsky postulated a gradual transition from normal to pathological based on neuro-anatomical und physiological presumptions. He postulated a causal chain which starts with exaltation followed by ecstasy, illusions, and at least hallucinations. He regarded exaltation to be a precondition in which a person accepts notions uncritically. Thus, in an exalted crowd one person that hallucinates may "infect" the others easily. People prone to mysticism, with a passion for mysterious things or on outstanding skills would be at a high risk of being infected. On the other hand, Kandinsky's hypothesis also implies that no one is exempt from such infection.