COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOR

CSI – UNIT 1 – 2015

Definition

•A social process that:•Emerges spontaneously

•Not created by law or institution•Does not reflect the existing social structure (laws, conventions, institutions)

•Appears, diffuses, and changes suddenly

•Study of crowds, fads, disasters, panics, & social movements•What holds them together?•Why are elements included or excluded?

Importance •Understanding how people respond in panicked situations can lead to better training for personnel to avoid unnecessary damage•1979 The Who concert stampede killed 11 better architecture & crowd management saves lives

•Reduce loss of life, esp. by control agents•Prison Riots :Attica 1971; Watts 1964; Newark & Detroit 1967

•Better planning for disasters (floods, earthquakes, tidal waves, nuclear accidents)•CDC research has a worldwide impact in disaster planning & control efforts

Examples

•Religious Revival Meetings

•Panic in a burning theater

•Widespread interest in a website

•Clothing fads•Rapid spread of rumors

Emergence-Cultural Specificity• How does culture foster the emergence of collective behavior?

• One extreme: culture offers guidelines• Indicates what social roles will be played & by whom• Who can become a member• Defines means & ends for decision-making• Determines where interaction will occur• When interaction will begin & end• Examples: Wedding ceremony, lecture in college auditorium, auto assembly line

• Other extreme: culture offers relatively little direction• Spontaneous group comes together for some unusual incident• Example: student crowd forms to protest rising tuition

• In between extremes: contests, celebrations, & disasters• Combine cultural specificity with culturally mandated emergence, depending on

which dimension of organization vs. emergence is considered• Example: Contests – choosing US president v. English Crown succession procedures• Example: Celebrations – Crowd celebrating an athletic victory

Degree of Emergence-Cultural Specification

High Degree of Emergence

Intermediate High Degree of Cultural

SpecificationSpontaneous CrowdMany FadsWaiting Lines

ContestsDisasters/EmergenciesCelebrationsSocial MovementsSponsored Fads

Conventional Church ServiceWeddingsClassroom Factory Assembly LineConcert

SEVEN CATEGORIESOf collective behavior

Crowds

• Any gathering of people who share a purpose or intent & influence each other

• Loose – group at the mall

• Organized – political rally or football game

• Type of behavior: the wave

Mobs & Riots•Crowd behavior directed toward a specific, violent end MOB•Tend to be emotional•Example: lynching in the 19th-20th centuries

•Violent crowd behavior without a specific goal RIOT•Expresses general dissatisfaction•Example: Baltimore 2015

Panic•Sudden terror dominates thinking & affects groups of people

•Disasters & fires can lead to panic•Cocoanut Grove Fire – 1942 – 492 died in Boston’s premier nightclub because side doors were locked & only exit was revolving door, which was blocked

•Stampede running from a crowded theater

•Example: Electric Daisy Carnival 2010 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nbYtfh27r6Q [2:00]•More than 100 hospitalized due to injuries, drugs, & alcohol in 2 day festival

Mass Hysteria

•Unmanageable fear or emotion by the public

•Often tied to diseases

•Salem Witch Trials, Red Scare, McCarthyism, etc.

Fashion & Fads

• Fashion that becomes popular relatively quickly, remains popular, then loses popularity dramatically

• Catchphrases & slang too

• 2010s• Angry Birds• Cupcake Stores• Dog Shaming • Planking

• 1990s• Beanie Babies• Bleached Tips • Grunge• “The Rachel”

• 1960s• Afros• Beatlemania• Lava Lamps• Tie-Dye

• 1920s• Drive-In Theatre• Flagpole Sitting• Swallowing Goldfish

Rumors

•“Unverified account of explanation of events circulating from person to person and pertaining to an object, event, or issue in public concern”

Urban Legends

•Type of rumor•Old wives’ tales•Examples•Midget in the Attic•Hookerman (Budd Lake)

Video: London Riots, 2011

• Unrest began August 6 after death of Mark Duggan, shot dead by police on August 4

• Over 3,000 arrested by August 15

• 5 dead, 16 injured

• BBC News https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFs0b97sqg4 [10 min]

• Police Interviews https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_qktOvVNXwc [58 min]

• “Our Crime” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-wyANyRG10 [56 min]

Class Activity

Crowds

MobsRiots

Panic Mass Hyster

ia

Fashion

Fads

Rumors

Urban Legen

ds

? ? ? ? ? ? ?

Class Activity 2

•In groups, act out one example of the terms:•Mass Hysteria•Panic•Fashion/Fads•Mob/Riot