1. Types of behavior and Theories
Collective Behavior
Types of behavior and Theories

2. Sociologists find difficult to study:
Collective behavior- relatively spontaneous social behavior that occurs when people try to develop common solutions to unclear situations
Sociologists find difficult to study:
Range of material too broad
Ex: lynch mobs, fads, panics, rumors, etc.
Collective behavior is relatively short-lived, spontaneous, and emotional

3. Characteristics of Collectivities (Groups who exhibit collective behavior)
Three factors that distinguish collectivities from other social groups:
Limited interaction- Interaction is limited and sometimes nonexistent
Unclear norms- Norms are unclear or unconventional
Limited unity- Do not share group unity

4. Types of Collective Behavior
Crowds
Fashions
Mobs
Fads
Riots
Rumors
Panics
Urban Legends
Mass Hysteria
Public Opinion
Crazes

5. Crowds- temporary gathering of people who are in close enough proximity to interact
Four classifications of crowds:
Casual Crowd- least organized; most temporary; very little interaction
Examples: People waiting in line for a ticket, people at a beach
Conventional Crowd- more structured; may not interact very much, but when they do, they follow norms. Usually have gathered for a purpose.
Examples: Funerals, public lecture, game
Expressive Crowd- no apparent goal or purpose; forms around emotionally charged activities, contains behavior that would, in other situations, be considered inappropriate
Example: Rock concerts
Acting Crowd- violent, emotions more intense than those in expressive crowd, hostile and destructive and usually focused on one target, usually formed by dramatic event, go against norms
Examples: Crowd fights after games

6. Mob- emotionally charged collectivity whose members are united by a specific destructive or violent goal
Most violent form of an acting crowd
Usually has a leader
Urges group toward common action
Enforces conformity among members
Unstable and last for a short time, but threatens social order and challenges official authority
Example: lynch mobs

7. Riot- collection of people who erupt into generalized destructive behavior, the result of which is social disorder
Violent form of an acting crowd
Less unified and focused than mobs
Often begins when long-standing tensions are triggered by single event
Examples:
Riots in Liberty City, Miami after a police officer killed an African American in 1989
Baltimore and Ferguson riots
Riots end when participants exhaust themselves or when officials regain social control
Protest movements are different in that they last longer, continue to work toward same goal, and are better organized

8. Panic- spontaneous and uncoordinated group action to escape some perceived threat.
Triggered by fear; usually when people believe that their means of escape are limited or soon to be closed off
Fear of being trapped leads to faulty communication about threat which fuels fear and keeps people from forming logical escape plans
Mutual cooperation breaks down; norms are lost
Most likely will occur in situations that are outside of everyday life: fires, floods, earthquakes
Example: Fire at Chicago’s Iroquois Theater in 1903
Sometime can be avoided when a leader emerges who can direct the people’s behavior

9. Moral Panic- when people become fearful about behavior that appears to threaten society’s core values
Mass media often identifies the behavior and casts it as a major social/moral crisis. Due to this, public demands action to stamp out behavior
Usually short-lived; replaced by another more current public concern
Example: In early ‘60s, the British launched a moral campaign against the “mods” and the “rockers”

10. Mass Hysteria- unfounded anxiety shared by people who are scattered over a wide geographic area
Formed by fear; irrational beliefs and behaviors spread among population, sometimes fueled by media
Short lived
Example: Salem Witch Trials

11. Fashions- enthusiastic attachments among large numbers of people for particular styles of appearance or behavior
Most related to clothing
Short lived; subject to continual change
Fashions prominent in industrial societies
Change is valued; associated with progress
Emphasis on social mobility
Preindustrial societies everyone of the same sex and age dresses alike. Styles change little

12. Fad- unconventional object, action, or idea that a large number of people are attached to for a very short period of time
Less predictable and enduring than fashions
Sociologist John Lofland divided fads:
Objects: hula hoops, pet rocks, mood rings, beanie babies, Pokémon cards
Activities: swallowing goldfish, crowding into telephone booths, eating light bulbs
Ideas
Personalities
Generally taken on by the young
A way to assert personal identities
Die out when they become uninteresting to public or so mainstream that they no longer bring interest to participants

13. Rumor- unverified piece of information that is spread rapidly from one person to another
Form of collective communication
Thrive when people do not have definitive facts
Content changes from person to person
Die out when proof about the subject is found
Example: The rumor of Paul McCartney being killed and then replaced in The Beatles with a lookalike

14. Urban Legends- stories that teach a lesson and seem realistic but are untrue
Form of collective communication
Attributed to specific times and places
Quickly become a sort of urban folklore, purpose of which is to clarify situations by teaching moral lessons
Example: “The Boyfriend’s Death”
Teaches that teenagers should not park in secluded places
Represents uneasiness parents have about teenagers driving and having freedom

15. Public Opinion- collection of differing attitudes that members of a public have about a particular issue
Form of collective behavior that primarily depends on communication
Public- group of geographically scattered people who are concerned with or engaged in a particular issue
Rapidly change because people’s opinions change
Important for politicians, businesses, and special interest groups
Spend billions each year to influence public opinion
Use propaganda- organized and deliberate attempt to shape public opinion

16. Propaganda
Testimonials- use of endorsements by famous people to sell products or secure votes.
Goal: persuade people to transfer admiration for celebrity to products or candidates endorsed by celebrity
Transfer- attempt to associate a product or candidate with something that the public approves or respects
Bandwagon- appeals to public’s desire to conform
Name calling- use of negative labels or images in order to make competitors appear in an unfavorable light
Plain-folks appeal- attempt to sway public opinion by appealing to average American
Glittering generalities- use of words that sound positive but have little real meaning
Card Stacking- presenting facts in a way that places politicians or products in a favorable light

17. Explaining Collective Behavior
Contagion Theory
Emergent-Norm Theory
Value-Added Theory

18. Contagion Theory Developed by Gustave LeBon
Hypnotic power of a crowd encourages people to become anonymous and to have no willpower or sense of responsibility
Crowd becomes singular with one collective mind
Three factors:
Because of number, individuals gain an anonymity that makes them unconquerable
Spread of emotion is rapid and contagious it overtakes individuals
Members enter state of suggestibility; unconscious of actions
Become receptive to manipulations of charismatic leaders
Limitations of theory:
Studies show no indication of collective mind exiting in crowds
Behavior in crowds not as uniform as LeBon suggested
Theory is helpful in explaining how behavior spreads and how emotions work to encourage people toward collective action

19. Emergent-Norm Theory Developed by Ralph Turner and Lewis Killian
Members of crowd have different attitudes, behaviors, and motivations
People in crowd are faced with a situation in which traditional norms of behavior do not apply.
Norms are unclear, so new norms gradually emerge when one or more leaders initiate new behaviors
New norms provide common motivation for group action where none existed before

20. Value-Added Theory
Developed by sociologist Neil Smelser who borrowed the value- added concept taken from economics
Six steps that build on one another and necessary for the next to occur. The first four set the stage for people to act.
Structural conduciveness- the surrounding social structure that makes it possible for a particular type of collective behavior to occur
Structural strain- social conditions that put strain on people and thus encourage them to seek some collective means of relief
Conditions like poverty, overcrowding, discrimination, and conflict
Growth and spread of a generalized belief- people identify the problem, form opinions about it, and share feelings of dealing with it
Precipitating factors- triggering mechanisms that set off the behavior
Mobilization for action- people gather to express their opinions through behavior
Social Control- a mechanism used to control or minimize a situation