The time of social media has brought about a number of changes in the way people interact. The most important change is that collective behavior has become more spontaneous and unstructured than it used to be. As a result, the social sciences have developed new ways of studying collective behavior barder.
Types of Collective Behavior
There are many different types of collective behavior, which includes crowds, riots, rumors, and fads. The majority of these behaviors are relatively spontaneous and unstructured, and they usually involve large numbers of people acting together jigaboo.
Crowds
Most collective behavior occurs in crowded spaces, such as theaters, stadiums, and sporting events. It is also common among individuals in public places, such as shopping malls, streets, and airports.
Riots
Riots are relatively spontaneous outbursts of violence by a group of people. They are a very common type of collective behavior in the United States, and they are often considered a form of protest distresses.
Rumors and Fads
Rumors are generally considered an important component of collective behavior. They are beliefs that people share about particular issues or events, and they usually have a strong emotional or irrational appeal precipitous.
They can range from political, economic, or cultural beliefs to religious, spiritual, and moral beliefs. They may also include beliefs about the supernatural or the nature of reality.
A person’s generalized belief about a situation is an important condition in Smelser’s value-added theory, which is the most popular and influential explanation of social movements.
Similarly, sociologists have found that people’s feelings of being relatively deprived are an important factor in their involvement in collective behavior. In other words, people tend to be more likely to protest when they believe that the conditions in their society are causing them to feel frustrated or angry mypba.
Sociologists also note that the existence of precipitating factors, or sudden events that spark people’s desire to protest, is an important factor in the formation of collective behavior. For example, in the 1960s, several urban riots began when police were rumored to have been unjustly arresting or beating people.
Disasters
Disaster behavior is another significant form of collective behavior. In most instances, individuals do not panic or react in a selfish manner; instead, they try to protect others and take precautions for their own safety.
The first stage in the development of collective behavior is sensitization and communication with other members of the group. Early students of crowd behavior identified the physical restlessness that characterized this phase as milling. They observed this agitated behavior in audience members waiting for a late-starting program or in citizens gathered to hear the news of an assassination attempt.
This initial period is the key to developing a collective mood, which is directed toward an object of attention. Typically, this is a perceived enemy. The mood then develops from this point on through elementary collective behavior. Typical examples of this process are the awe and gratitude felt in a collective religious experience or the anger and hostility that builds up to a riot.
