Collective Behavior and Why Some Crowds Get Out of Control

In the months after the Jan. 6 riot in Washington, D.C. in 2021, several defendants claimed that their crimes weren’t their fault. According to their defense teams: The crowd made them do it. At least for some of them, the defensive strategy failed to deliver, and they were found guilty on multiple charges. That said, it all begs the question: Can crowds really make people behave in ways that are deeply at odds with their values? If so, are any of us immune to collective behavior? Contagio