Conformity

con·form·i·ty/kənˈfôrmitē/

Noun:

Compliance with standards, rules, or laws. Behavior in accordance with socially accepted conventions or standards.

Mob Mentality

The term “mob mentality” is used to refer to unique behavioral characteristics which emerge when people are in large groups.

When used in a pejorative sense, the term implies a group of people which has gotten out of control.

Example:
In a news story about a store sale at which people were trampled, the journalist might use “mob mentality” to describe the selfish behavior of the people who attended the sale. Such stories illustrate the desperate actions which people will involve themselves in during a period of resource competition; people may mob trucks with relief supplies, trample each other at big box stores, or riot in the streets in response to resource scarcity or a perceived scarcity.

However, “mob mentality” is about more than just crowds which have gotten out of control. The field of psychology is very interested in the ways in which human behavior change in response to new social situations. People behave very differently in small groups of individuals than they do in big crowds, for example, and their behavior in crowds is affected by a wide variety of factors.

The study of crowds has also been used to study grim topics like the rise of antisemitism in Germany under Hitler, the riots between Muslims and Hindus which broke out when India was partitioned, and the genocide which took place in Rwanda in 1994.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-mob-mentality.htm

When people are part of a group, they often experience deindividuation, or a loss of self-awareness. When people deindividuate, they are less likely to follow normal restraints and inhibitions and more likely to lose their sense of individual identity. Groups can generate a sense of emotional excitement, which can lead to the provocation of behaviors that a person would not typically engage in if alone.

Example: Think about the last sporting event or concert you attended. It’s unlikely that you would have been yelling or singing the way you were if you were the only person doing it! The group seems to make some behaviors acceptable that would not be acceptable otherwise.

But, this does not happen all the time obviously.

http://source.southuniversity.edu/examining-the-mob-mentality-31395.aspx

Red Scare and The Crucible

"Hysteria lacks common sense"

Similar to the 1950’s Red Scare when common sense was displaced with irrationalities and stupidity, Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, mimics the absence of honest common sense in hysteric times. It is evident common sense is missing in the play because wild accusations are made, the proof for the convictions is absurd, and routine normalities are given up.

http://bookstove.com/drama/crucible-and-the-red-scare/

The First Red Scare

The word "Red" has long been associated with the Communists and Socialists, while "White" has been associated with the conservatives

Red Scare - a period of general fear of communists

The first in a series of so-called “Palmer Raids” was launched on November 7, 1919 — the second anniversary of the October Revolution in Russia. Thousands of anarchists and communists were rounded up, many of whom were detained for long periods without being formally charged. In December, in a highly publicized move, more than 200 alien detainees were deported to Finland and later to Russia. Placed aboard the Buford, dubbed the “Soviet Ark,” were such prominent leftists as Emma Goldman, the Russian-born anarchist, who had drawn disapproval by opposing the draft and promoting birth control.
 
Despite finding no credible evidence that a communist plot was underway, Palmer staged more raids in January 1920. With the assistance of local law enforcement officials throughout the country, as many as 6,000 suspects were arrested and detained.
 
Palmer claimed to know that May 1, the socialist Labor Day, would bring massive demonstrations as a prelude to revolution. The American public was apprehensive as the date approached, but the predictions proved to be without foundation and Palmer’s standing declined rapidly. He was criticized sharply for conducting searches without warrants and for denying detainees legal representation. Most damning were the charges of some who believed that Palmer had manufactured the crisis as a means to gain the Democratic presidential nomination in 1920.

The events of 1919-1920 were the first of a series of “red scares” in American history in which the government would clamp down on real or imagined domestic revolutionaries.
(http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1343.html)