Collective Behavior from the report submitted by Gobres, Catherine N. et al Archi V-4

Collective Behavior

There is no better definition of the term Collective behavior and there is no common agreement as to its important features. Turner and Killiam defined Collective Behavior as “forms of social behavior in which the usual conventions close to guide social actions and people collective transcend, bypass, or subvert established institutional patterns and structures” (1987). It rises out of the ordinary and unusual situations characterized by uncertainty and feelings of crisis.

Theoretical formulations – that describe Collective Behavior

Convergence Behavior

This explanation is premised on the idea that human behavior is determined by forces within the individual. The participants in the Collective Behavior have common characteristics such as similarity in social positions based on income, education, social class, and relative deprivation. The group is considered as homogenous, they are those groups who are likeminded people who share the same needs and aspirations. The criticism to this perspective is that the homogeneity of the group is in over simplication as interaction takes place between individuals, whether or not they are of similar characteristics.

Emergent Norm Perspective

The Emergent Theory emphasizes communication among members that serve to show the applicability of a particular norm, thus, justifying the actions of the crowd. They hold that collective behavior is no characterized by unammity but differences in expressions and emotions. Proponents assume that collective behavior is guided by emergent norms. Members who came together have divergent views, same act spontaneously with each other, others express what they feel and still others are restrained in their behavior. In the process of responding to each other, a revised definition of their situation comes about and then member s act in terms of this definition.
Types of Crowd

Casual Crowd
Crowds which are spontaneous, loosely organized and very momentary type of grouping whose members come and go. The emotional interaction is very slight and the group has a little unity. The members gathered around a bargain counter or celebrity.

Conventionalized Crowd
Characterized by established regular ways of behaving, depending upon the time and place of performance and order of activities. Members may short, clap their hands or boo. This may be seen in ball games, a boxing bout, sports competition, or New Years Eve’s parties.

Acting Crowd

An active, volatile group of exited persons whose attention to focus provocative issues which arouses action, if not indignation. It may be motivated by intense love or affection, rage, fear, and hate.

Expressive crowd
Characterized by rhythmic activity, intense emotional contagion, and emotional release. The crowd acts but it does not develop any goal, nor is there an agent or external condition that serves as a target of attack. Channeled to unrestrained physical movements that release their anxiety, tensions, frustrations, or emotions.

A crowd is a number of people gathered together temporarily. A mob then is a crowd organized a specific aggressive or destructive goal, such as lynching, seizing a group of leaders in a political revolt, or trashing a football stadium after a win or loss by home team.
Demonstrations, mobs, and riots are crowds motivated by hate, fear or anger. Crowds usually range from the loosely organized casual groups to the more unified acting and expressive crowds.


2.2 Audience
Often confused with the conventi0nalized crowd is the audience. The spectators or audiences are usually passive and are usually controlled by certain cultural codes. They have top remain quiet during the performance and clap their hands only after the performance. The audience gathers for a specific purpose like entertainment or getting information on a certain subject. It meets at a predetermined time and place. Audiences may be seen at concerts, conventions and meetings.

2.3 Mass
Unlike the crowd, mass is a diffused collectivity. It is made up of a number of disparate individuals, each responding independently to the same stimulus. The mass has no social organization, no established leader, no structure of statuses and roles. It is characterized as make up of anonymous individuals, so that there is hardly interaction among members: it is very loosely organized and has little unity. Mass behavior may be seen in migration, evacuation, rush to mining sites, or to reported places or miracles and faith healers.

Fashions, fad, crazes
Fashions, fads and crazes are forms of diffused collectivities or mass interaction. They meet human need for excitement or self expression and self-esteem, so that ones ego is boosted if one is considered as fashion plate.
Fashion is applied to the relatively short- lived, socially approved variations in clothing and adornment, art, housing and furniture, and other areas of behavior.
Fads are passing fancies or novelties of interests related to trivial deviations from the conventional behavior. They involve minor modifications or decorations of dress, mannerism, use of slang words or other verbal developments.
Crazes and fads are hard to differentiate. Crazes are usually very fleeting in duration; generate interest rapidly and after the excitement collapse suddenly. Crazes may be computer, skateboards, cell phone and Meteor Garden. Involvement in crazes provides forms of self expression and outlets for anxieties and tensions.


Disaster Behavior
As the name suggests, this is the type of behavior elicited in times of disasters such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons, and coup de etat. Disaster behavior combines mass and crowd behavior. Great fear emanating from the threatening situation becomes widespread. This kind of behavior was observed during the 7.6 intensity earthquake in Baguio, Pangasiana, Nueva Ecija and Metro Manila on July 16, 1990, the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in 1991, and the typhoon and subsequent floods which swept Ormoc, Leyte and Negros in November 1991.

Public Opinion
In the public, he members are confronted by an issue and they discuss, argue debate, make compromise, and form composite opinions on it, this is known as public opinion. Public Opinion is dependent upon some media of communication to make information about the issue assessable. Public Opinion can also be influenced in a wide range of ways from direct persuasion to direct propaganda techniques. Representatives of various organization play an important role in shaping Public Opinion, and the individual in the public is able to express ones self through memberships in the groups, among are business organizations, professional groups, religious organizations, employees association, labor unions, student groups, and farmers organization trough their leaders or policy makers, these organizations make themselves felt by the key persons or groups who make the decision.




Social consequences of collective behavior
Collective behavior is a result of social change which promotes non- institutional courses of action in a normative justification. While some circumstances strengthen resistance to changes. Developments in technology and other changes like urbanization, industrialization, increase on population and the coming together of diverse ethnic groups open up new self conceptions and create new values. Collective behavior becomes a vehicle for the release of aroused feelings or accumulated tensions, anxieties and discontent as manifested in the acting and expressive crowds or involves some issues which arise without disrupting the consensus in the group which may be resolved through discussion in the public. Crowds can also control social change. Demonstrations and riots can be followed by a number of improvements. They can result in wage increases and granting of other benefits, new pieces of legislation, replacement of public officials and popular endorsement of new values or strengthening of values controlled. Widespread Collective behavior does not necessarily bring about change, it becomes a vehicle of change when diverse cultures come in contact within the society and supply new values around, which collective behavior become focused as the interaction between people continues, collective behavior grouping may develop form of organization. The crowd may develop into sect, the public into a political or interest group, and the mass into a cult. Social movements may result in new institutions with new and radical values, or in a few cases, in the preservation of the social order. Collective behavior may result in new directions of culture and the establishment of new folkways, norms and values, thus, Collective Behavior plays an important part in the process of social change.