INSTINCTS OF THE HERD IN PEACE AND WAR

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original green cloth, stamped and bordered in blind to the upper board, titles in gilt to the spine. A very good copy, the binding square and firm, with a little bumping and very minor fraying at the tips of the faded spine. The contents, with a previous owner's inscription in ink to the front free endpaper dated 'April 25, [19]15', some toning to the endpapers and light spotting to the fore- and bottom edges, are otherwise clean throughout. An attractive example. Scarce.

A popular and highly influential work of social psychology by philosopher surgeon Wilfred Trotter (1872-1939). 'Instincts of the Herd in Peace and War' comprises a collection of essays introducing the concept of "herd instinct" and discussing the phenomenon of group pressure in determining individual behaviour (Rosen, Irving B.: Canadian Journal of Surgery, 2006). These essays include "Herd Instinct and Its Bearing on the Psychology of Civilized Man" (Trotter's first contribution to the field of crowd psychology, first published in 1908 in The Sociological Review), "Sociological Applications of the Psychology of Herd Instinct", and "Speculations Upon the Human Mind in 1915". The final essay in this volume, explores the manifestation of herd mentality during wartime as opposed to peace, focusing on expressions of herd instinct in society during periods of severe stress. Trotter's original theories were shown to be an important inspiration for Freud's 1922 publication 'Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego', and a foundational text for other contemporary social psychologists, consumer psychologists, political scientists, and even educational psychologists to use in their decision-making, leadership and group dynamic theories and studies. A second edition followed in 1919. Award winning Ian Fleming bibliographer, Jon Gilbert notes this title as a James Bond source book, Trotter's theory is cited in 'Live and Let Die', 'From Russia With Love' and 'Thunderball'.