Professor of Clinical Psychology and Personality Assessment at the Lagos State University , Kayode Taiwo , says organisers of the # EndSARS protest did not take cognisance of the crowd psychology theory, adding that being aware of it could have prepared them ahead of the eventual ugly turnout .
According to social psychologists, crowd psychology, also known as mob psychology, is a crowd behaviour that is heavily influenced by the loss of responsibility of the individual and the impression of universality of behaviour , both of which increase with crowd size.
Speaking to our correspondent , Taiwo said , “ The protesters didn ’ t factor in crowd psychology. Under this , you realise that it takes a minute for certain people to see an opportunity to give vent to the anger they have against the society .
“ Unfortunately , the political leaders were slow in deploying the right psychology towards handling the issue before it got out of hand . ”
The psychologist called for group psychological debriefing for survivors of people who died during the #EndSARS protests, as well as those that might have witnessed violent acts that took place as the protests assumed vicious dimensions .
He said this became imperative in order to prevent the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health conditions.
He emphasised that such individuals must get immediate psychological intervention and evaluation , to help them manage the trauma they have been exposed to .
It may be recalled that the peaceful protests staged by youths across the country to condemn police brutality later became marred by violence that claimed the lives of several persons, and left many others in critical condition .
Speaking in an exclusive interview with PUNCH HealthWise , Prof. Taiwo said it was imperative that such persons get personalised or group psychological debriefing that is tailored to meet the environmental harsh condition they were exposed to during the protests.
He explained that when a person experiences traumatic event , the body ’ s defence mechanisms come into effect , creating a stress response that may bring about a variety of physical symptoms , behavioural change or intense emotions.
“ Most of the protesters are traumatised. In handling trauma, individual differences matter .
“ Psychological and physiological intervention is not a philosophical intervention , because they entail individual differences .
“ For example , some people are already used to nightmares and once they experience a new one, they can still function.
“ For some other people , a nightmare can make them not to function well, because it has never been part of them . So , here , differences in psychological makeup must be considered, ” Prof. Taiwo advised .
Continuing, he said , “ Trauma is value laden. It is a psychological concept that is all about mental wellness .
“ Trauma doesn ’ t have to be clinical before it affects our day to day living .
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