Collective Motion of Moshers at Heavy Metal Concerts

TL;DR

This paper investigates the extreme collective behaviors at heavy metal concerts, such as mosh pits and circle pits, showing they can be modeled by flocking simulations aligning with simplified collective behavior models.

Contribution

It demonstrates that human collective behaviors at concerts can be effectively modeled using flocking simulations, linking real-world phenomena to theoretical models.

Findings

Mosh pits resemble disordered gas-like states.

Circle pits exhibit ordered vortex-like behavior.

Simulations replicate observed concert behaviors.

Abstract

Human collective behavior can vary from calm to panicked depending on social context. Using videos publicly available online, we study the highly energized collective motion of attendees at heavy metal concerts. We find these extreme social gatherings generate similarly extreme behaviors: a disordered gas-like state called a mosh pit and an ordered vortex-like state called a circle pit. Both phenomena are reproduced in flocking simulations demonstrating that human collective behavior is consistent with the predictions of simplified models.