Instincts of the Herd in Peace and War

A classic work of crowd psychology.

Based on the ideas of Gustave Le Bon, Instincts of the Herd in Peace and War was very influential in the development of group dynamics and crowd psychology. This book is certain to be of marked interest to every student of human nature. Trotter's writings about herd mentality are still considered by some to represent a breakthrough in the understanding of group behaviour. The general purpose of this book is to suggest that the science of psychology is not the mass of dreary and indefinite generalities of which it sometimes perhaps seems to be made up; to suggest that, especially when studied in relation to other branches of biology, it is capable of becoming a guide in the actual affairs of life and of giving an understanding of the human mind such as may enable us in a practical and useful way to foretell some of the course of human behaviour. Wilfred Trotter gives us a great insight to mass psychology, to discover how leaders think and influence people, to understand how the masses are easily manipulated.