John Drury

@profjohndrury.bsky.social

6.8K followers 1.1K following 1.5K posts

Social psychologist @Sussex.ac.uk. Collective behaviour, crowds, emergencies, Covid http://tinyurl.com/anw6sxrs Member behavioural sub-group @independentsage.bsky.social Views my own.

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John Drury is a Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Sussex. His core research is in the area of crowd psychology.

Source: Wikipedia

Psychology 24%

Political science 21%

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John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · Nov 15

Crowds & Identities -- a starter pack.

Please share.

bsky.app/starter-pack...

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 4h

Le Bon: The Western Intellectual Behind China’s Distrust of the Crowd

letter.palladiummag.com/p/the-wester...

The Western Intellectual Behind China’s Distrust of the Crowd

Since the Cultural Revolution, China has feared and suppressed mass mobilization. The theories of French thinker Gustave Le Bon influence both the party and its critics in their evaluation of the mob.

letter.palladiummag.com

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 1d

Let's play 'authority uprising /riot discourse bingo':

'Outside agitators' - check
'Rioters destroying their own community' - check

www.theguardian.com/global-devel...

New protests erupt in Iran as supreme leader signals upcoming crackdown

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei calls protesters ‘vandals’ and ‘saboteurs’ and blames US for instigating the unrest

www.theguardian.com

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 2d

'fire broke out in the [Bradford] main stand, killing 56 spectators. Yorath helped a number of people to escape before making his own exit by breaking a window in the players’ lounge and jumping through it, injuring his leg in the process.'

www.theguardian.com/football/202...

Terry Yorath obituary

Footballer who captained and managed the Wales national team and starred in Don Revie’s famous Leeds United side of the 1970s

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Robert West

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 2d

Statement from Birzeit University on the Israeli military invasion of its campus and shooting of students www.birzeit.edu/en/news/stat...

Statement from Birzeit University on the Israeli military invasion of its campus and shooting of students

As part of its ongoing assault on Palestinian life and institutions, the Israeli occupying army carried out a military invasion of Birzeit University during official working hours, at a time when the ...

www.birzeit.edu

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 2d

'It was not a super flu year'
New from @chrischirp.bsky.social
christinapagel.substack.com/p/it-was-not...

It was not a super flu year

Update on flu and covid in England

christinapagel.substack.com

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 3d

'People who wrongly believe that others care more about selfish values ... are less likely to volunteer...
experiments have found that showing people that others share similar values and beliefs to them can make them more trusting & hopeful for the future.'

theconversation.com/think-societ...

Think society is in decline? Research gives us some reasons to be cheerful

If we look at people’s values - abstract ideals that guide our behaviour - there are reasons to be positive about society.

theconversation.com

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 3d

'Spontaneous public response to a marauding knife attack on the London underground: Sociality, coordination and a repertoire of actions evidenced by CCTV footage'

Now 'In the top 5% of all research outputs scored by @altmetric.com'

bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

British Journal of Social Psychology | Wiley Online Library

Across a range of recent terrorist attacks in the United Kingdom, the question of how crowds behave in confined public space is an important concern. Classical theoretical assumptions are that human ...

bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Reposted by Jolanda Jetten, John Drury, Andrew Livingstone

Hema Preya Selvanathan @hemapreya.bsky.social · 4d

Introducing our edited book, Political Psychology: Revisiting the Classic Studies! @jolanda-jetten.bsky.social
Each chapter considers an influential early study in the field with a fresh perspective. Published by SAGE: au.sagepub.com/en-gb/anz/po...

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 5d

Five years today since Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building. In this blogpost Carina Hoerst describes her research on the group psychology of empowerment involved in the attack.

blogs.sussex.ac.uk/psychology/2...

The Role of Collective Psychological Empowerment in the Capitol Insurrection

By Carina Hoerst On January 6 this year, Trump supporters gather in front of the White House to attend Donald Trump’s rally to “Stop the Steal”. Confederate and USA flags, together with those…

blogs.sussex.ac.uk

Reposted by John Drury

Dana R. Fisher (aka the Apocalyptic Optimist) @fisherdanar.bsky.social · 5d

On the anniversary of the insurrection at the US Capitol on 1/6/2021, I'm reposting some of my initial thoughts: danarfisher.com/2021/01/11/w....

When Protest Becomes Insurgency

Since violent insurgents stormed the US Capitol on January 6th, myriad accounts of what happened have been reported. It is clear that what many believed would be a peaceful protest that was legally…

danarfisher.com

Reposted by John Drury, Will Jennings

Prof. Ian Walker @ianwalker.bsky.social · 5d

This finding of "hidden" public support for green policies strongly echoes our work on pluralistic ignorance when it comes to non-car travel: most people support non-car travel more than car travel, but at the same time they believe this is a minority view

A graph showing people support non-car travel much more than they think other people do

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 6d

Includes this important chapter that I have found inspirational

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 6d

Now it’s been republished, I’ve bought my own copy of one of the most important books on behaviour in emergencies

Reposted by Jonathan Portes, John Drury, Tim Bale , and 1 more Jonathan Portes, John Drury, Tim Bale, Stuart White

Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 12d

Longterm intergenerational shift is a civic widening of inclusion. The short-term shift is hardening views within the minority position
bsky.app/profile/prof...

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 12d

Today's opinion poll news in context. The longer term trend has been away from ethno-nationalism.

Source:
Butt S, Clery E, Curtice J, editors (2022). British Social Attitudes: The 39th Report. National Centre for Social Research.

Reposted by Andrew Livingstone, Tom Griffin, Aurélien Mondon

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 12d

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 13d

'Why you are probably a hero: Even when facing violence, people tend to intervene to prevent harm'

spectator.com/article/why-...

Why you are probably a hero

Studies have found that in emergencies people tend to look after each-other rather than look after themselves

spectator.com

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 13d

Change From Within: Building Support for Climate Policy in Groups Stereotypically Associated With Climate Opposition or Disengagement

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 13d

I agreed with an editor of an Elsevier journal for a two week extension for my review, but am still getting ‘reminder’ emails for the original date every two days including on the public holidays…

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 15d

(Re-)conceptualising Post-Traumatic Growth: A Social Identity-Informed Approach

compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1...

(Re‐)conceptualising Post‐Traumatic Growth: A Social Identity‐Informed Approach

Traditional models of post-traumatic growth (PTG) focus mostly on the role of individual processes in its development, often at the cost of understanding processes other than individual-level factors...

compass.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 15d

Estimating the value of face coverings during the COVID-19 epidemic: a dynamic causal modelling study

New from @globalhlthtwit.bsky.social of @independentsage.bsky.social

bmjpublichealth.bmj.com/content/bmjp...

bmjpublichealth.bmj.com

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 16d

From something I'm writing...

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 16d

Not always true that 'non-violence is key', though. Plenty of riots have led to social changes... And many effective movements have include both violence and non-violence.
@metesefauysal.bsky.social @pjsaaved.bsky.social

SOUTH JERSEY DEMOCRATIC WOMEN'S FORUM @sjdwf2025.bsky.social · 16d

In case you need a positive reminder:
How effective is protesting? According to historians and political scientists: very www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

How effective is protesting? According to historians and political scientists: very

From emancipation to women’s suffrage, civil rights and BLM, mass movement has shaped the arc of US history

www.theguardian.com

Reposted by Joanna Bryson, John Drury, Richard Waite

SOUTH JERSEY DEMOCRATIC WOMEN'S FORUM @sjdwf2025.bsky.social · 16d

In case you need a positive reminder:
How effective is protesting? According to historians and political scientists: very www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

How effective is protesting? According to historians and political scientists: very

From emancipation to women’s suffrage, civil rights and BLM, mass movement has shaped the arc of US history

www.theguardian.com

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 20d

Not sure there are rules against musings, so try it.

Reposted by Charles Antaki

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 21d

Resisting eating during a family mealtime: The moral and identity work of food refusal

bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

British Journal of Social Psychology | Wiley Online Library

Recent developments within social influence research have demonstrated how resistance is temporally and sequentially accomplished within social interaction. The everyday morality of trying to get ano....

bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 21d

A Social Psychological Perspective on How to Preserve Academic Freedom in Illiberal Political Contexts

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10....

A Social Psychological Perspective on How to Preserve Academic Freedom in Illiberal Political Contexts

In this paper, we explore how illiberal regimes strategically and ideologically target academic institutions to consolidate their power and suppress dissent using the example of 16 years of growing i...

onlinelibrary.wiley.com

Reposted by James P. Collins

John Drury @profjohndrury.bsky.social · 21d

'respondents with multiple flood experience are more likely to perceive social norms supporting individual protective behavior, ascribe more responsibility to public authorities and less to their community'

nhess.copernicus.org/articles/25/...

Polarization in Flood Risk Management? Sensitivity of Norm Perception and Responsibility Attribution to Frequent Flood Experience

Abstract. In this study, we examine the relationship between frequent flood experience (FFE), norm perception, and responsibility attribution. Given that floods are assumed to occur more often in the ...

nhess.copernicus.org

Reposted by John Drury, Scott L. Greer, Tim Bale

Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 21d

Immigration salience has less to do with aggregate Immigration numbers than
- visibility of boats & asylum > visas
- general vibes about integration
- elite cues from media & political discourse in shaping public perceptions

This is more true when immigration is falling then when it is rising