The Science Behind Mosh Pits

Mosh pits may look chaotic, but how people act in them are anything but.
Mosh pits appear animal, violent, and unruly. But beneath all the swinging arms and smashing bodies is one of the most welcoming and gregarious atmospheres I’ve ever witnessed. And I would know-- I’ve been an avid mosher since my early teens. But what’s driving this near paradoxical juxtaposition of kindness and violence? Why do people move as they do? We’re answering all that and a little bit more as we delve into the science of the mosh pit.
For those thinking that I made a video just to justify moshing and going to Welcome to Rockville for 3 days: You know-- fair.
Less-than-three
Peter
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Sources:
Jesse Silverberg and the Science of the Mosh Pit
www.theatlanti...
MASHers simulator
mattbierbaum.gi...
Multiple masculinities and listening to heavy metal
link.springer....
Embracing the Chaos of the pit
www.tandfonline...
Metal Music and Arousal and Anger
academic.oup.com/jmt/article/34/1/33/876572
Metal Music Helping with Anger Processing
www.fronteirsin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2015.00272/full
Metal Music and Violent Affect
www.researchga...
Metal Music and Peaceful Feelings
www.researchga...
Metal Music and Physical activity
www.ncbi.nlm.n...
Music facilitating group identities
journals.sagepu...
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Video Sources:
Backstreet boys’ music video “everybody”
• Backstreet Boys - Ever...
Concussion:
www.triadhpc.co...
Thanks again to Stephanie Underhill for helping me get footage of 2018’s Welcome to Rockville.
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Image Sources:
All other images not created custom for this video should either be creative commons license 0 or fall under fair use for educational purposes. If you are the creator of an image used in this video and you believe that your image was used inappropriately or that its uses fall outside of fair use, please contact me to let me know. I am more than willing to work out any issues or disagreements.
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Audio Sources:
Electro Sketch by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (creativecommon...)
All other audio comes courtesy of the RUclips Audio Library