Clifford John Thornton Stott (born July 1965) is professor of

social psychology Social psychology is the methodical study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Although studying many of the same substantive topics as its counterpart in the field ...

Keele University Keele University is a Public university#United Kingdom, public research university in Keele, approximately from Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire, England. Founded in 1949 as the University College of North Staffordshire, it was granted uni ...

. He is a specialist in the psychology of crowds,

group identity Collective identity or group identity is a shared sense of belonging to a group. This concept appears within a few social science fields. National identity is a simple example, though myriad groups exist which share a sense of identity. Like ma ...

, and

football hooliganism Football hooliganism, also known as soccer hooliganism, football rioting or soccer rioting, constitutes violence and other destructive behaviors perpetrated by spectators at association football events. Football hooliganism typically involves ...

Research

His initial research interest was in

political dissent Political dissent is a dissatisfaction with or opposition to the policies of a governing body. Expressions of dissent may take forms from vocal disagreement to civil disobedience to the use of violence.protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

change to become violent through observing the psychology of crowds. His work indicated that, rather than

riots A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

being driven by

hooligans Hooliganism is disruptive or unlawful behavior such as rioting, bullying and vandalism, often in connection with crowds at sporting events. A hooligan is a person that engages in illicit reckless behaviors and is a public nuisance. Etymology ...

who are predisposed to violence (the 'mindless mob' perspective developed at the end of the nineteenth century), they are structured and led by beliefs. The majority of the crowd consider that they are peaceful protestors with a right to express their views. If disorder or confrontation starts, and the police act against it, the crowd experiences what they consider is illegitimate police use of force. This changes their behaviour so that they resist the police. His research has led to changes in policing by some authorities with the aim of reducing violent confrontations. He studied the London Poll Tax riots and Italian World cup in 1990, riots in the UK in 2011, and in Hong Kong in 2019, using social media and mapping to follow their trajectory. Using ideas gained from his research, he advised a region of

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

on policing football matches. The success of this approach led to its introduction across Portugal, and was subsequently adopted by

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

across Europe. It has resulted in decreased violence. He is co-chair of the Security and Policing group and a member of the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours (SPI-B) advising the

Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...

of the UK government in 2020 during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

Education and personal life

Stott left school at 16 without qualifications, but after a few years, through part-time study at further education college, he gained qualifications for entry to university. He was able to study psychology at the college, a topic he wanted to study. He studied B. Sc. (HONS) psychology at Plymouth Polytechnic (now

University of Plymouth The University of Plymouth is a public research university based predominantly in Plymouth, England, where the main campus is located, but the university has campuses and affiliated colleges across South West England. With students, it is the ...

) and then a Ph. D. at

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

University, supervised by

Steve Reicher Stephen David Reicher is Bishop Wardlaw Professor of Social Psychology at the University of St Andrews. His research is in the area of social psychology, focusing on social identity, collective behaviour, Group conflict, intergroup conflict, ...

and funded by the

ESRC The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), formerly the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) funded by the UK government. ESRC provides fundin ...

Honours and awards

Stott was the guest on the

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

programme ''

The Life Scientific ''The Life Scientific'' is a BBC Radio 4 science programme, presented by Jim Al-Khalili, in which each episode is dedicated to the biography and work of a living scientist. The programme consists of an interview between Al-Khalili and the featur ...

'' in June 2020. He was appointed

Member of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(MBE) in the

2021 Birthday Honours The Queen's Birthday Honours for 2021 are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded ...

for services to

crowd psychology Crowd psychology (or mob psychology) is a subfield of social psychology which examines how the psychology of a group of people differs from the psychology of any one person within the group. The study of crowd psychology looks into the actions ...

and the COVID-19 pandemic response.

Selected publications

*''Football 'Hooliganism', Policing and the War on the 'English Disease' ''. Pennant Books, London, 2007. (With Geoff Pearson)

References

External links

*https://www.theguardian.com/profile/clifford-stott British social psychologists Football hooliganism in the United Kingdom Academics of Keele University Academics of the University of Leeds Alumni of the University of Exeter Alumni of the University of Plymouth Living people 1965 births Members of the Order of the British Empire {{UK-psychologist-stub