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Abstract

The present study concerns an attempt to outline whether the behaviours witnessed during the BLM protests, were the result of group conformity. Group conformity is a form of social influence whereby exposure to the attitudes and behaviours of the group surrounding them, causes an individual to alter their own in favour of those of the group. Numerous research has found that prominent figures (who are representative of the protesting population) are particularly likely to influence the moods and behaviours of the group. Thus, the present study aimed to identify whether symptoms of conformity were evident, amongst a sample of online news videos.

 To examine this, indicators of conformity were compared when in the company of the police, as well as the media- both factors known to elicit deviant reactions. This enabled assumptions to be drawn, concerning whether conformity was the likely cause of behaviour, or to evidence the behaviours as having alternative origins. The method employed to do so was to analyse six videos, two from the BBC, ITV, and Sky News, using a visual content analysis. Findings were then placed into a descriptive statistics table. Symptoms of conformity have not yet been medically defined. Subsequently, where anxiety and conformity are closely related, physical manifestations of anxiety, irritability, restlessness, and the inability to concentrate, were used as a measurement tool.

Findings from the current study revealed that conformity was significant in the presence of leadership. Indeed, irritability, restlessness, and the inability to concentrate were behaviours that although seen, were notably diminished in the presence of the police, and the media also, although were acknowledgeable at times. Thus, were somewhat supportive of previous findings. Nonetheless, where behaviours were heightened in a context where conformity is highly anticipated, this suggests that the behaviours witnessed during the BLM protests were likely due to the impact of such. Therefore, this supports previous research which suggests that conformity is an accustomed aspect of public assemblies, impacting their willingness to engage in immoral conduct.

Implications of the findings are discussed in relation to the media representation of Black and minority ethnic communities. Indeed, the present study discovered that if the media continue to represent Black and minority ethnic communities negatively, they may adapt behaviour according to how they are perceived. As well as this, this dissertation discovered that in protest contexts such as BLM, officers deployed should be representative of those communities to ease strained tensions. Finally, the study suggested that levels of proactive engagement could be bettered between the police and protestors. As a result of doing so, it may not only promote a healthy co-existence with the police, but it would also better public order policing overall.

Course: Criminal Justice - MSc - C2681F

Date Deposited: 2023-05-03

URI/permalink: https://library.port.ac.uk/dissert/dis14114.html