collective behaviour, the kinds of activities engaged in by sizable but loosely organized groups of people. Episodes of collective behaviour tend to be quite spontaneous, resulting from an experience shared by the members of the group that engenders a sense of common interest and identity. The informality of the group’s structure is the main source of the frequent unpredictability of collective behaviour.

1. Collective
Behavior

2. Hello!
Sabghat Ullah Khan – CS120192060
Muhammad Raza – CS120192045
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3. Topics to be Coverd…
• Introduction to Collective Behavior
• Characteristics
• Social Movements
• Theory of Collective Behavior
• Categories of Collective Behavior
• Crowed Behavior
• Mass Behavior
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4. Topics to be Coverd…
• Forms of Mass Behavior
• Rumors
• Fashion and Fade
• Crowed Behavior
• Characteristics
• Types
• Theories
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5. Introduction
to Collective
Behavior
The term collective behavior refers to social
processes and events which don’t reflect
existing social structure (laws, conventions,
and institutions), but which emerge in a
“spontaneous” way.
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6. 👉The term “Collective behavior” refers to group
behavior that is apparently not guided by the usual
norms of conduct.
Definition by N.J.Smeler:
👉Collective behavior may be defined as
“The relatively unorganized patterns of social interaction
in human groups”.
Other definitions…
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7. Example
If we consider a normal classroom situation in a university. Students arrive
more or less on time, they seat themselves in an orderly way, they listen to
lectures, take notes, ask questions at appropriate points, and finally leave
classroom, when the lecture is over. Everyone practice a predictable fashion.
But suppose a fire suddenly breaks out in the classroom. Confusion prevails
everywhere.
The normal pattern of behavior gets immediately disrupted. The social
behavior becomes “unstructured” and “unpredictable”. There are no norms to
govern this behavior. There will be disorder and the students will be panic.
Sociologists use the term “Collective Behavior” to refer to such a type of
behavior.
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8. Characteristics of
Collective Behavior…
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• Collective behavior is temporary in nature and is entirely an unplanned
one.
• This type of behavior is not regulated by any set of rules or procedures.
• Since this behavior is not bound by any defined norms, it becomes
unpredictable.
• Anonymity encourages them to behave in an irresponsible manner.
• It is an unusual event.
• Rumors and misinformation normally run rampant during the course of
collective behavior.
• This kind of behavior is triggered not only by rumors but also guided by
beliefs, hopes, fears etc.
• Collective behavior, may in certain respects have a close relationship with
the broad cultural patterns of the community.

9. Social Movements…
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According to Ian Robertson: ‘A social movement
consist of a large number of people who have
joined together to bring about or resist social or
cultural change’.

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Difficulties Involved
In The Study Of
Collective Behavior
The first problem is that collective behavior is unstructured.
Collective behavior often occurs as a spontaneous outburst.
The concept of ‘collective behavior’ has a very wide range of
meaning, in which we find a lot of variance.

11. Theory Of Collective
Behavior
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• Theory of collective behavior has been made by
Neil Smelser (1962).
• Smelser argues that collective behavior is
essentially an attempt by people to alter their
environment particularly when they are under
conditions of uncertainty, threat or strain.

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Smelser Speaks Of Six
Basic Conditions
• Structural Conduciveness: This refers to the structured
elements within the society that make a particular
form of collective behavior possible.
• Structural Strains: Situations such as poverty, conflict,
discrimination etc.; lie at the base of much of collective
behavior.

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Smelser Speaks Of Six
Basic Conditions
• Growth and Spread of Generalized Belief: Before any
collective action, people must develop some general
belief about the situation.
• Precipitating Factors
• Mobilization for Action
• Operation of Social Control

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Categories Of Collective
Behavior
• Collective behavior that describes “the actions, thoughts
and feelings of a relatively temporary and unstructured
group of people”-can be separated into two categories;
• Crowd behavior
• Mass behavior

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The Concept Of Mass
And Mass Behavior
A mass is not the same as crowd. A group of spectators watching
a cricket match constitute a ‘crowd’. But a large number of
people who watch same game at home on t.v. constitute a ‘Mass’.
Mass behavior is unorganized, unstructured, uncoordinated,
individually chosen behavior of masses.

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SOME BASIC FORMS OF
MASS BEHAVIOR
• RUMOURS
• FASHION AND FADS

17. RUMOURS
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• A rumor is information which travels from person to person by word
of mouth.
• A remou is information that is transmitted informally from
anonymous sources.
• A rumor may b true, false or a combination of truth and falsehood.
• Rumors normally rise in situations where people are deprived of
information or where they do not trust the official information they
are given.
• It is also observed that people are mostly likely to believe and spread
rumors.
• Rumors are believed and spread because people need and like
them.

18. FASHIONS AND FADS
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• Fashions are currently accepted styles of appearance and behavior.
• In simple, rural and tribal societies, fashions are not very much
apparent. In modern complex societies, fashions are not only
rampant but also change very rapidly.
• A new fashion is generally more likely to be accepted if it does not
differ too much from existing fashion.
• There is no rule that fashion always originate among the elite and
spread towards the middle and lower classes.

19. THE FADS
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“A fad is a trivial, short lived variation in speech, decoration, or behavior.”
• Fads differ from fashion in that they are more temporary.
• Those who take interest in them are called ‘faddists’.
• A fad often provides a means of asserting personal identity.
• They appeal young people, who often have less stable identities.
• When a fad become wide spread, it loses its charm.

20. 20
Crowed
Behavior
Any questions?

21. What is a crowd
➔“A crowd is a group of people who are physically close together and
share a common concern” (Wallace and Wallace)
➔“Crowd is a collectivity of significant number of individuals responding
within a limited space to some object of attention”
➔Examples:
⇾ A group of passengers at bus stop.
⇾ A group of people gathered in fish market to buy or sell fish.
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22. Characteristics of crowd
• Crowds are loose textured groups. They are not just congregations of
people. Physical closeness leads to social interaction.
• They vary greatly in character and behavior. However they have certain
characteristics in common. There are following characteristics of crowd.
 Suggestibility: People in a crowd are said to be highly suggestible.
There exists heightened emotions and excitements in a crowd. People
are carried away by opinion, feelings and action of one another.
Emotions and excitements always add to suggestibility.
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23. Characteristics of crowd
 Anonymity: Individuals in crowd feel that their identities will remain
anonymous, they are relatively insignificant and they could remain
unrecognized. This feeling of anonymity add to the irresponsible
behavior of its member.
 Spontaneity: A crowd is spontaneously formed and is highly temporary
in nature. Members of a crowd also tend to behave in more
spontaneous manner. And they are more likely to be impulsive.
 Invulnerability: A crowd lack self-consciousness. Since their personal
identities are not recognized, they feel that they can behave freely. They
do not just bother about the hold of social control mechanism.
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24. Types or crowd
 Casual crowds: The crowd that gathers around a specific event and
its members have little interaction with one another, are known as
casual crowds. These crowds are most loosely structured of all
crowds. Individuals of these crowds have least emotional
involvement in the crowd. They can easily go away from it.
Example: A group of people forming a crowd at the spot of car
accident.
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Herbert Blumer (1951) has spoken four
main types of crowds:

25. Types or crowd
 Conventional crowds: These types of crowds are
planned and relatively structured. A conventional crowd
gathers for a socially sanctioned purpose. These are
known as conventional crowds because their behavior
follows the established social norms and conventions.
Example: An audience filled with parents at a
graduation ceremony .
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26. Types or crowd
 Expressive crowds: This crowd gathers specifically for the
purpose of letting out emotions. They are organized to
permit the personal gratification of their members.
Example: A college dance, a religious revival meeting etc..
 Acting crowds: This crowd focuses its attention on a
specific action or goal. The members are generally angry
at some force and want to act against it. Comparatively it
is least common one but socially it is most significant of
the four basic crowd types. Example PTI Jalsa.
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A religious tent revival meeting, Cedar
Rapids, Iowa, late 1920s or early 1930s.
PTI Jalsa Sialkot Picture today 7 May 2017

28. Theories of crowd
behavior
There are two major theories of crowd behavior:
1. The contagion theory.
2. The “Emergent Norms” theory
➔The contagion theory: This theory was proposed by Le Bon in 1895. he
suggested that: “ collective mind” forms in a crowd and with this the
conscious personality of the individual members almost disappear.
• Members of a crowd are dominated by a single impulse and act
almost identically. Individuals become susceptible to suggestions
in crowds
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29. Theories of crowd
behavior
• People actually melt in the group and become anonymous.
• Since nobody notices what anyone says or does in a crowd , one’s
personal beliefs become less important.
• The collective belief is formed from the contagious growth of a belief
that is suggested and spread throughout the crowd.
• Members of a crowd are highly suggestible and look to others for cues
and behave in a less critical and more irresponsible manner.
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30. Theories of crowd
behavior
➔The “Emergent Norms” theory: It is the most accepted theory of crowd
by turner and killian(1972).
• Supporters of this theory have charged that contagion theory
exaggerates the irrational and purposeless components of crowd
behavior.
• There are considerable differences in the motives, and actions of crowd
members.
• Some of the people present in crowds may be more impulsive, while the
others are passive supporters.
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31. Theories of crowd
behavior
The unanimity of crowd is only an illusion.
• Crowds are guided by the norms. but the norms are devised as the
crowd goes along.
• New norms emerge in the course of social interaction.
• These norms define appropriate behavior in a crowd situation. These
norms emerge from the visible actions of few people.
• The crowd itself evolves the norms and then enforces them on its
members
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MOBS AND RIOTS ARE
FORM OF CROWD
BEHAVIOUR

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Two types of Mob:
1. Purposive and active mob
2. Confused and random mob

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Riots
• The riots is another important form of crowd behavior.
• A riots is the action of a violently aggressive destructive crowd

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Audience as a crowd
with a difference
Types of audience
1. Information seeking audience
2. Recreation seeking audience
3. Conversional seeking audience

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Public and public
opinion
Public refers to an un organized aggregation of persons who are bound by
common opinion desire but they have no personal relation ship.

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Propaganda and its
techniques
• Techniques of influencing human action by the manipulation of
representation.
• Propaganda and its techniques…
1. name calling
2. Transfer
3. testimonial:- using for famous or respected people
4. Plain folks
5. Card stacking

38. Reference:
Principles of sociology with an
introduction to social thought
( C.N.Shankar Rao) chapter 37
Collective Behavior.
Page no( 513-526)
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