Cricket match and the human psyche

There I was, sitting quietly in front of my laptop, and involved in my daily post-office routine of reading news, checking mails, talking to people, etc., when loud noises from downstairs disturbed me. Within a moment, I realised that it was human noise (yeah, I'm way too quick) and that it was most likely in response to some cricket update on the idiot box (India is playing a match against England now). Even as I was thinking why people must shout to let their happiness (or frustration, as the case may be) be known, I was assaulted by similar, animal-like bellowing from below, presumably from the same house. Twice, mind you!

Undeterred by the feeble attempts to distract me, I let my mind come back to the new line of thought that it was trying to pursue. So, why exactly do people who are merely watching a sport on TV shout out loud when something happens on-screen? Would they do the same if they were alone at home? Or maybe alone in a marooned island (ignoring for the moment where they would have gotten a TV in such a place)?

My powerful brain did its thing, and gave me an answer within a few seconds (I told you I was quick): No. They wouldn't do that if they didn't have company. Not satisfied by my own intelligence, I probed further, this time into my own mind: would I have shouted out loud while watching a match on TV alone? I thought back to such instances, and remembered that though I haven't screamed, I have definitely let out happy / frustrated comments. So, to be fair, I reasoned (for I'm a reasonable man too), it's not beyond the realm of possibility that what commenting is to me, shouting could be to others. Hmmm, interesting!

However, my brain was still not satisfied with this simplistic explanation. I longed to bring my knowledge of Transactional Analysis in the picture. People shout, I told myself, mainly because they want to be stroked. Now suddenly, that made more sense. It also fit in with why people tend to shout / scream more when in the presence of others, no matter who the others are. The so-called "mob psychology" is essentially the craving of a stroke-deprived people to be recognised for something, anything, that would elevate them from the mundaneness of anonymity. Pretty smart, huh? (I told you I was smart!)