1 / 12

Collective Behavior

Collective Behavior. Chapter 17, section 1. Introduction. In general, social behavior is patterned and predictable. Collective Behavior: when social behavior is not patterned and predictable people make up new norms as they go along in unclear situations

binta
Download Presentation

Collective Behavior

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Collective Behavior Chapter 17, section 1

  2. Introduction • In general, social behavior is patterned and predictable. • Collective Behavior: • when social behavior is not patterned and predictable • people make up new norms as they go along in unclear situations • short lived, spontaneous, and emotional

  3. Characteristics of Collectives • Limited Interaction: short or non-existent • Unclear Norms: no set rules • Limited Unity: seldom share a group identity

  4. There are many different types of collectives.

  5. Crowd • Definition: a temporary gathering of people • Casual Crowd: least organized, most temporary • Example: lines to buy movie tickets • Conventional Crowd: more structured, gather for a common reason • Example: funeral, ball game • Expressive Crowd: no apparent goal or purpose; common behavior includes cheering, dancing, and/or shouting • Example: concert • Acting Crowd: violent; intense emotions which are usually hostile, destructive, and focused on one target • Examples follow

  6. Mob • The most violent form of an acting crowd • United by a violent goal • Usually has a leader or leaders • Generally unstable and limited • Example: lynch mobs

  7. More Acting Crowds • Riots: erupt into generalized destructive behavior; less unified and focused than mobs; participants lack power • Example: LA riots after the Rodney King beatings • Panics: triggered by fear • Example: Chicago Fire of 1903 • Moral Panics: people become fearful, without reason, about behavior that appears to threaten society’s core values • Example: Gay Marriage concerns

  8. Mass Hysteria: an unfounded anxiety shared by people scattered over a wide geographic area; involves irrational beliefs and behaviors spread by the population and fueled by the media; short lived • Example: swine flu • Fashions: enthusiastic attachments among large numbers of people for particular styles of appearance or behavior; subject to change • Example: grunge look

  9. Fads: an unconventional object, action, or idea that a large number of people are attached to for a very short time • Example: mood rings; pet rocks • Rumors: an unverified piece of information that is spread rapidly from one person to another; changes from person to person • Example: news about a classmate • Urban Legends: stories that teach a lesson and seem realistic, but are untrue • Example: bring one in for homework!

  10. Public Opinion: the collection of differing attitudes that members of a group of geographically scattered people have about a particular issue; often influenced by propaganda • Example: views on equality

  11. Explaining Collective Behavior • Contagion Theory: crowds are so hypnotic, people give up their individuality • Emergent-Norm Theory: traditional norms don’t apply in this crowd, so people have to act quickly • Value-Added Theory: the pre-conditions for collective behavior build on one another—see next slide 

  12. Pre-Conditions • Structural Conduciveness • Structural Strain • Growth and Spread of a Generalized Belief • Precipitating Factors • Mobilization for Action • Social Control

More Related