Collective Behavior
Collective behavior is a type of social behavior that occurs in crowds or masses. Riots, mobs, mass hysteria, fads, fashions, rumor, and public opinion are all examples of collective behavior. It is argued that people tend to surrender their individuality and moral judgment in crowds and give in to the hypnotic powers of leaders who shape crowd behavior as they like.
Types and Examples of Collective Behaviour
- The Crowd
We attend the theatre and game events with a large number of people. We join the political demonstration to change the direction of domestic and foreign policy. Each of these actions could be viewed as crowd behaviour. Crowd refers to a highly diverse conditions of human assemblage: audience, mob, rally and panic all fall within the definition of crowd. Roger Brown (1954) classifies crowds as either active or passive. Passive crowds are given the label audience and can be either casual (a group pausing on a street corner to observe some stimulus event) or international (spectators at an athletic event) in nature. Active crowds are called mob and include aggressive collectivities, such as riots and fynch mobs, panics of escape and acquisition, and expressive crowds.
- Communication in the Crowd: Rumours
Most analysts of the crowd behaviour argue that the dispersal of information through rumours is one of the most important and significant processes underlying the whole phenomenon. When a mass of individuals joins together in a common course of action, such as riot, panic, or lynching, they must usually develop something approximating a common definition of the situation. The development of this common definition often occurs through the rumour-dissemination process.
Turner and Killian (1972) have noted that rumour is the characteristic mode of communication in collective-behaviour episodes. It is the mechanism by which meaning is applied to what is otherwise likely to be an ambiguous situation. Thus, rumours
Types and Examples of Collective Behaviour
- The Crowd
We attend the theatre and game events with a large number of people. We join the political demonstration to change the direction of domestic and foreign policy. Each of these actions could be viewed as crowd behaviour. Crowd refers to a highly diverse conditions of human assemblage: audience, mob, rally and panic all fall within the definition of crowd. Roger Brown (1954) classifies crowds as either active or passive. Passive crowds are given the label audience and can be either casual (a group pausing on a street corner to observe some stimulus event) or international (spectators at an athletic event) in nature. Active crowds are called mob and include aggressive collectivities, such as riots and fynch mobs, panics of escape and acquisition, and expressive crowds.
- Communication in the Crowd: Rumours
Most analysts of the crowd behaviour argue that the dispersal of information through rumours is one of the most important and significant processes underlying the whole phenomenon. When a mass of individuals joins together in a common course of action, such as riot, panic, or lynching, they must usually develop something approximating a common definition of the situation. The development of this common definition often occurs through the rumour-dissemination process.
Turner and Killian (1972) have noted that rumour is the characteristic mode of communication in collective-behaviour episodes. It is the mechanism by which meaning is applied to what is otherwise likely to be an ambiguous situation. Thus, rumours