Robert Park first coined the term collective behavior in the early 1900s. In class, it was taught that his definition included social unrest, crowds, sects, publics, mass movements, crowd mind, propaganda, and fashion as forms of collective behavior. Collective behavior has shaped our everyday lives in more ways than most of us care to think about. Collective behavior is defined as any event in which a group of people engages in unusual behavior. Unusual may have a negative connotation for some, but from a sociological standpoint, as discussed in class, it simply means against the norm. Even more explanatory than that; behavior that falls outside of the normative expectations for a situation and/or participants. In a normal setting, …show more content…
Then thoughts start to swirl around about the situation at hand and why the situation exists. People begin to talk amongst themselves and wonder what they should do. This is where the emergence of new group norms begins. Members of the group begin to form a new definition of what is appropriate action. They begin to see what actions need to take place within the group and create norms to satisfy those needs. When these new norms are established, then crowd behavior begins, and the group members begin to act on those norms. Another major theory of collective behavior is the Social Contagion theory. Major thinkers in this theory are Gustave LeBon, Robert Park, and Herbert Blumer. These thinkers believed that people became temporarily insane within a crowd and then return to normal when they leave the situation. The contagion refers to a rapidly spreading infection. People become engaged in collective behavior and the path of activity spreads over a certain area. The first modern theory of collective behavior used contagion to describe how the behavior spread from person to person like some kind of disease or infection. LeBon thought that crowds changed people. He believed “members of the crowd are reduced to the level of the least intelligent, roughest, most violent member of the group”. He also believed that in crowds, people rarely understand what they are doing or why they are doing it. According to LeBon, crowds act
When developing a group the norms of the group can ultimately determine the therapeutic outcome for the group (Yalom, 2005). Norms are formed by the leader’s behavior and the group’s expectations (Yalom, 2005). The norms are the standard social behavior for the group. This would include acceptable behavior and typical conduct of the group members.
Mob mentality and herd behavior have a negative behavior on people because of their individuality and rational thinking. People are influenced by others behaviors in a group. They can have negative and positive acts on people having individual thinking and it changes people's rational thinking. In the teleplay “The Monsters Are Due On Maple Street” written by Rod Serling, the article “When Good people Do Bad Things” written by Ann Trafton, and the article “Why Do People Follow The Crowd” reported by ABC news, when someone does not want to share their own idea they do not feel like sharing as a groups. People can also act differently in a group because they do not want to be embarrassed with others.
“Something happens to individuals when they collect in a group. They think and act differently than they would on their own. (17)” States Carol Tavris in her article, “In Groups We Shrink From Loner’s Heroics”. Tavris believes people who are in groups tend to act in a more sluggish manor than those alone. She states many examples of this theory in her article, including the story of Kitty Genovese which is stated in the first paragraph. Kitty was stabbed repeatedly and killed in front of her New York apartment. No one did anything to stop this heinous action from taking place. Within her essay she obtains rhetorical appeals to prove that her
When in large groups people feel less apparent and adopt the group mindset, as if they are invisible in comparison to the large amount of people around them partaking in the same or similar acts. There is less of a blame and guilt factor present. People may also feel as if it is okay that they do it, because their peers are making similar decisions. A good example of deindividuation is the Aggiville riots, where
When people are part of a group, they often start to deviate from their personalities, and tend to focus on the opinions and actions of the group. Groups can generate a sense of engaging energy, which can lead to behaviors that a person would not typically engage in if they were alone. People seem to believe that certain behaviors are acceptable when they are in groups that would otherwise not be acceptable if they were alone. Many people believe they cannot be held responsible for their actions when they are with a group because they see the
They avoid conflict and feelings, so that people focus on other things. However, people are gathering information and opinions about everything, so not much work gets done. The second stage is called storming. In this stage people start to confront each other. Some people will be happy about this, where as other people would prefer to still be in the forming stage. People will look for clearness in the structure and rules to make sure that the conflict doesn't get any worse. The next stage is called norming. In this stage the group now have an understanding of each other after the conflict. So they now support and listen to each other and they are prepared to change their opinions that they made in the forming stage. They group worked hard to get to this stage as they may have not wanted things to change. The final stage is called performing. In this stage they all know each other well, so they can communicate effectively, to ensure that they get everything
In special education it is vital to have an understanding of human behavior and how it relates to learning disabilities. It is imperative to have a grasp of the concepts of the models and how it relates to the educators of tomorrow. (Wheeler, John J., Richey, David Dean, 2010) Understanding models of behavior also helps to have a more cohesive and positive classroom.
Irving Janis, a social psychologist, studied how social behavior is influenced in group settings. In 1972, he coined the name ‘groupthink’ to describe observed behavioral changes in individuals belonging to groups. Groupthink is characterized by a group’s pursuit for unity, often resulting in individual members disregarding or altering their own beliefs to coincide with the majority, or group’s, beliefs. This disregard or altercation ensures that the group stays unified; however, results in the group committing illogical actions without considering
All in all, its quite impetrative to point out the aspects of collective behavior employed by American sociologist Herbert Blumer. For instance, through collective behavior, we a society can often cause a lot of situations through collective
Groups can influence people’s perception and ideas even if they contradict their own. Groups can act as an entity of authority, and for some people it is difficult to stand out or think differently than their peers. “When we’re in a
As human beings, each person on earth possesses a desire to belong. In order to meet this need, one must find a way to fit in with a group. Yet somehow, once a group has been joined, humans tend to take on the ideas and opinions of the group without analyzing the situation for themselves. Doris Lessing, in her essay, “Group Minds”, proposes the idea that humans spend their whole life going along with the group because they fail to analyze the reasons behind their actions. While Lessing’s idea is valid, no one has yet successfully implemented her plan.
The term groupthink in this report is defined as, the social psychological phenomenon that results in groups during pressure situations. This social psychology theory is broken down into eight signs. Illusion of invulnerability, Collective rationalization, Belief in inherent morality, Stereotyped views of out-groups, Direct pressure on dissenters, Self-censorship, Illusion of unanimity, Self-appointed “mindguards”. According to research conducted by Irving Janis, there are three conditions to groupthink. The first, "high group cohesiveness" which is the direction for a group to be in unity while working towards a goal, or to satisfy the emotional needs of its members. Secondly, the structural faults such as insulation of the group, lack
When analyzing social patterns and behaviors, is there a significant difference between the psychology of an individual and groups? Collective and individual behavior is surprisingly similar, and depending on the circumstances, identical. In Charles Siebert essay “An Elephant Crackup,” he validates to readers, through social elephant narratives and herd mentality theory, that similarly to an individual elephant all elephants behave in similar ways. Furthermore, Sherry Turkle in selections from her work Alone Together accounts
One of the facets of living within civilized society is that there are certain norms and social conventions that people must follow. Frequently, there is a large effort on the part of government, financial, and social institutions to keep people doing most of the same thing as others going to work, driving cars, buying homes, etc. Despite the fact that people engage in these efforts individually, the simple fact that they are all attempting to do the same thing, in much the same way, is indicative of the fact that they are engaged in collective behavior. THESIS: Those who are able to overcome collective behavior and allow for their individuality to determine their own outcomes exemplify the best of human nature.
A group engages in certain processes that naturally occur when a set of individuals are working together. In the Orientation phase, the needs of group members are to be oriented to the task, that is, to define the task, specify issues, identify expectations, and explore the nature of the work. From this, members develop a common understanding of the group's purpose. In the Testing and Dependency phase, participants generally act as if they depend on the leader to provide all the structure. They look to the leader to set the ground rules, establish the agenda, to do all the "leading," while the group members acclimate themselves to the setting. Group members exhibit behavior to test what behavior is acceptable and what is not, and begin to establish boundaries, to consider themselves as individuals in relation to the group, and to define the function of the group and the leader. This phase generally concludes when there is general agreement that the goals are achievable and that change is possible--whether it be changing behavior, making a decision, or solving a problem. Organizing to get work done involves a number of group decisions. These include establishing work rules, determining limits, defining the reward system, setting the criteria for the task, dividing the work and assigning individual responsibility for particular tasks. As it relates to