A number of people have asked me about the tragic incident in America yesterday, where a Walmart worker was trampled to death by a crowd of shoppers streaming into a store to grab bargains.
As a psychologist and consumer behavior expert they ask me how people can behave in the way they did? How could this have happened over shopping?
Well, the first point to make is that this isn't the first time this type of tragedy has occurred. Anywhere that very large numbers of people are gathered, and particularly when they are all trying to go in one direction, there is the possibility that people can get hurt.
There have been several instances of crush deaths at music concerts and a major tragedy at a soccer stadium in Sheffield (Hillsborough) where 96 people died in 1989.
This is partly a matter of flow dynamics (the funnel created by entrances or stages that people are trying to reach) and partly human psychology.
With the Walmart Black Friday Sale the psychology is a by-product of the environment: these sales are competitions. There are limited numbers of heavily discounted items so people know they may lose.
This triggers one of the most powerful unconscious drives - the fear of loss (loss aversion): our unconscious is always on the look-out to see if a situation might lead to us feeling bad. It does what it can to direct our actions so that we can avoid this outcome.
Accompanying this, such sales are designed to attract people with a powerful psychological desire to save. This is an important evolutionary behaviour and one that retailers can trigger by telling us discounts are available. The extreme event of Black Friday is only going to appeal to those people who really feel that desire to save strongly.
Others, who have a weaker drive to save, will decide the stress and discomfort aren't worth it - they will have a higher drive of a different type that motivates their behavior.
So with this psychologically selected subset of people competing to avoid feeling bad what is it that leads to tragedy?
Well, it only takes one person to push forward into a small space somewhere towards the back of the cue to prompt a couple of people around that space to feel aggrieved.
They, in turn, move defensively to protect the small space near them - conscious that "people" are pushing in. Of course, at this stage it was only one person that moved into a gap.
In turn, the two people who have noticed the 'space invader' and have moved cause four people around them to get concerned.... and so it goes on. An exponential increase in pressure is created towards a relatively narrow point at the front of the queue.
The self-selecting, competing pool of people who feel a powerful desire to save, the high stakes created by the limited nature of the discounts on offer, the fear of missing out, and the sheer number of people attracted to an unregulated queue, are a recipe for disaster.
At the heart of it all, the fact that we are essentially a herding animal, means in circumstances like these we unconsciously react to the rest of the pack around us - just as sheep would. People responded instinctively to protect themselves, not thinking that their actions would be having a ripple effect with the people ahead of them.
The irony is that very few of the people going out to save money would have bought the item or items they end up purchasing were they not being discounted. So whilst they tell themselves they are saving $200 on the TV, they are spending $400 that they otherwise wouldn't have.
So who is to blame for this tragedy?
Ultimately it's an accident. It's not really fair to point the finger at the first person to push forward into a space at the back of the line. He or she was only reacting to an unconscious drive that had been triggered by Walmart.
Walmart were only perpetuating a long held tradition of a discount day that has not been associated with tragedy in the past.
Hopefully lessons will be learned and more regulated queues will be in place in the future.
Philip Graves [Consumer Behavior Expert]
The Consumer Behavior Research Resource
As a psychologist and consumer behavior expert they ask me how people can behave in the way they did? How could this have happened over shopping?
Well, the first point to make is that this isn't the first time this type of tragedy has occurred. Anywhere that very large numbers of people are gathered, and particularly when they are all trying to go in one direction, there is the possibility that people can get hurt.
There have been several instances of crush deaths at music concerts and a major tragedy at a soccer stadium in Sheffield (Hillsborough) where 96 people died in 1989.
This is partly a matter of flow dynamics (the funnel created by entrances or stages that people are trying to reach) and partly human psychology.
With the Walmart Black Friday Sale the psychology is a by-product of the environment: these sales are competitions. There are limited numbers of heavily discounted items so people know they may lose.
This triggers one of the most powerful unconscious drives - the fear of loss (loss aversion): our unconscious is always on the look-out to see if a situation might lead to us feeling bad. It does what it can to direct our actions so that we can avoid this outcome.
Accompanying this, such sales are designed to attract people with a powerful psychological desire to save. This is an important evolutionary behaviour and one that retailers can trigger by telling us discounts are available. The extreme event of Black Friday is only going to appeal to those people who really feel that desire to save strongly.
Others, who have a weaker drive to save, will decide the stress and discomfort aren't worth it - they will have a higher drive of a different type that motivates their behavior.
So with this psychologically selected subset of people competing to avoid feeling bad what is it that leads to tragedy?
Well, it only takes one person to push forward into a small space somewhere towards the back of the cue to prompt a couple of people around that space to feel aggrieved.
They, in turn, move defensively to protect the small space near them - conscious that "people" are pushing in. Of course, at this stage it was only one person that moved into a gap.
In turn, the two people who have noticed the 'space invader' and have moved cause four people around them to get concerned.... and so it goes on. An exponential increase in pressure is created towards a relatively narrow point at the front of the queue.
The self-selecting, competing pool of people who feel a powerful desire to save, the high stakes created by the limited nature of the discounts on offer, the fear of missing out, and the sheer number of people attracted to an unregulated queue, are a recipe for disaster.
At the heart of it all, the fact that we are essentially a herding animal, means in circumstances like these we unconsciously react to the rest of the pack around us - just as sheep would. People responded instinctively to protect themselves, not thinking that their actions would be having a ripple effect with the people ahead of them.
The irony is that very few of the people going out to save money would have bought the item or items they end up purchasing were they not being discounted. So whilst they tell themselves they are saving $200 on the TV, they are spending $400 that they otherwise wouldn't have.
So who is to blame for this tragedy?
Ultimately it's an accident. It's not really fair to point the finger at the first person to push forward into a space at the back of the line. He or she was only reacting to an unconscious drive that had been triggered by Walmart.
Walmart were only perpetuating a long held tradition of a discount day that has not been associated with tragedy in the past.
Hopefully lessons will be learned and more regulated queues will be in place in the future.
Philip Graves [Consumer Behavior Expert]
The Consumer Behavior Research Resource
9 comments:
Philip,
Nice post about how something like this could possibly happen. Even with your excellent explanation, I am still discouraged that such baser instincts rise to the fore for mere discounted goods. If it were food for the starving masses, that would be one thing...but Wal-Mart? Eek.
Jennifer Skinner
Wardrobe Planning Expert
Ahh, the greatest of English inventions... the orderly queue...
I have been in situations like this a few time at the front of the stage at concerts (Springsteen and The Who) and it is a terrifying feeling...
Seize the Day,
Rob
Is Your Corporation Protecting You?
Personal Asset Protection For Small Business Owners
Wow, I didn't hear about this. Great post in explaining how this happens. I tried to explain this to my children one time but my explanation couldn't touch yours. Excellent post.
Babysitter, Nannies, and Au-pairs
Very insightful analysis of a tragic situation.
Scott A Bell
www.scottalexanderbell.com
This is an interesting analysis... morbid, but interesting. It is amazing the directions studying consumer behavior can take you.
Philip,
Yes, I agree that this was a tragedy that appears to be the fault of no particular individual.
Darryl Pace
Great post. It is nice to see it from how it could happen. It is just sad that it has to happen. I am with Jenn, if this was for food, one thing, but this was to save a few bucks. I know things are tight for most, but this happens almost every year. Isn't it also time for some controls to be put in place. It is just insane to me.
Cindy
Cindy Eyanson Online
Hi Phil,
Indeed, we had such things as thing in the States as I know you all think of us outside of the USA in or around 1980 with the stadium seating as I think it was called (essentially open seating) in Ohio I think it was with the great fantastic rock band, "The Who."
they're from England. Maybe you heard of them? ;)
Orderly queues. Southwest airlines does it. Admittedly with small number of people.
So much for that crap idea of "the wisdom of crowds."
All the best,
April Braswell
Online Dating Expert, Romantic Relationship Coach, Romance Coaching
Online Dating Sites Review, Internet Dating Sites Guide
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