Police Psychology | Viral Infection

There are some things Police Psychology just hasn’t figured out, in fact all of psychology is left puzzled when something goes viral. I was recently sent a video about a woman who has heard her fiancé was gunned down in the street after a Mardi Gras Parade. She was out of control and causing a ruckus. An officer responded, not with handcuffs but with a hug. It was the most human of responses, and since it was a white officer hugging a black woman in turbulent racial times, you would think it is going to go viral. It’s only gotten about 6,000 views, somewhat short of the 1 million viral standard (which is now 3 million in less than a week).

From the Dancing Baby Cha-cha of the 90’s, to ugly cats, the lip-singing of the Numa Numa video, to the thousands of videos of Hitler parodies from “Downfall”, to the Korean Gangnam Style, to the under 12 obsession with Minecraft, what is it that makes something go viral. What makes something that is not too far from the rest of the pack, stand out. And then, how could we figure out how to do it. Imagine you are trying to sell a book and you get 5 million hits in a week and you could repeat it. Bye, bye police psychology, hello marketing guru. (more…)