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Large gatherings are usually peaceful but sometimes turn unruly with deadly consequences. Last year’s stampede during the Hajj in Saudi Arabia, for example, left more than 2,000 people dead. Psychologists say understanding how and why crowds sometimes behave as they do, and controlling them, involves recognizing people's capacity for self-regulation. Saudi authorities say they have spent more than $300 million to improve the safety of pilgrims during the annual visit to the Muslim holy sites, a central tenet of Islam. But stampedes still happen in Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, so psychologists are trying to understand why and what can be done to prevent them. Understanding stampedes Observing groups of undergraduate students, psychologists at the University of Sussex noticed differences in behavior when subjects perceived themselves as individuals sharing only physical space with others, as opposed to sharing some sort of social identity. “We primed a bunch of undergraduate students to share a group identity and then gave them a task where they had to walk to a library square on the Sussex campus, and we filmed them as they walked under a bridge and then tracked that behavior” Anne Tempelton, PhD student explained. “and we compared that behavior to when they weren't primed at all.” Sharing common identity, stick together Students who shared the common identity, such as wearing the same black baseball caps, stayed together, keeping a close formation. Students who did not belong to a group just rushed past each other. | 
