Applause is behavior

The quality of a performance does not determine the number of applause applause for performers, according to a new study.

Instead, scientists discovered, clapping were infectious behavior and the length of a applause was influenced by how other members of the crowd behaved.

According to them, as long as a few people start clapping, this behavior will spread throughout the crowd. And then, if only one or two individuals stopped, the applause would die.

As long as a few people start clapping, this behavior will spread throughout the crowd.(Photo: Discovery)

Dr. Richard Mann from Uppsala University (Sweden), the head of the study, stated: "You can get applause rings of varying lengths even when your performance quality This is completely due to the activeness of the people in the crowd. "

The study report, published in the Journal of the Royal Society Interface , said the conclusion was drawn after scientists conducted a video study of different groups of students watching a presentation. .

The results show that, only 1-2 people applaud in a sporadic manner, this behavior will spread to the crowd. The initial applause triggered a chain reaction and the other members of the crowd also joined in appreciation for sound stimulation.

"Pressure comes from the volume of applause in the room, not from what the person next to you is doing , " Dr. Mann explains.

However, no matter how good the presentations were, they did not affect the length of applause.

"In one case, the audience can clap an average of 10 times each person. At other times, they can only clap 3 times. It all starts with the feeling that you have social pressure to start clapping , but once you start the act, you also face the same social pressure of not stopping clapping until someone initiates the stop , " Mann added.

The team believes that clapping is a form of "social contagion" and it partly helps reveal how ideas and actions can be accepted or abandoned by the crowd.