Nguyen Le

Sociology 1
Discussion 1P
TA: Sue Park
Abstract #1
Panic at The Who Concert Stampede: An Empirical Assessment
Norris R. Johnson
The term panic, while is a common term, is often misused by social media as
the basis for tragic behaviors, especially stampedes at concerts, and the lack of studies
in this behavior has unfortunately contributed to this widely misconception. Using the
case of the stampede at The Who concert in Ohio in 1979, Johnson argued that while
panic did exist, it was not the main contributor to the tragedy. In order to support his
claim, Johnson analyzed 46 statements taken from Cincinnati Polices file,
reconstructed the event, and identified whether or not there exists an unregulated
competition, where people valued their selfish goals over someone elses life. The
author found that during the event, at least 40 percent of interviewees reported some
sort of helping behaviors: either help, get help, or witness one, and men were more on
the giving-help side. However, help was still limited due to the size of the crowd: people
in the rear, unware of the tragedy in front, still pushed forward, when those in the front
tried to run for their lives. Thus, there existed a panic in trying to enter the stadium to
escape the scene. This kind of panic is different from the one that the fans were
condemned for trying to find a seat at a cost of other peoples lives. Therefore, this
article asserted that there exists a need to study more in depth the crowd behavior in
these particular settings. Even though there is panic, social expectations (e.g. men help
women) will keep the behaviors in check. In addition, since the actions may not perceive

the true motive (e.g. running away to save their own lives), panic is not a sufficient and
appropriate cause for these tragedies.