ochlology

Etymology

From ochlo- + -logy.

ochlology means the psychology of crowds or mobs. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.

Why “ochlology” is a great word

OCHLOLOGY — [Noun] The study of the psychological dynamics and emergent behavior of crowds or mobs. From the Greek ochlo- (from ochlos, meaning "crowd" or "mob") and -logy (from -logia, meaning "study of" or "discourse"). Unlike sociology, which analyzes the enduring structures of society, or group psychology, which examines defined collectives, ochlology fixates on the volatile alchemy of the dense, anonymous mass. It is the physics of the panicked stampede, the contagion of a slogan rippling through a square, and the chilling uniformity of a thousand faces contorted in identical fury—a sober science devoted to the moment the 'we' subsumes and extinguishes the 'I.'

noun

the psychology of crowds or mobs