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CONTAGION THEORY An early explanation of collective behavior was formulated by French " and " Innovation ". Tarde initiated the " Group Mind " concept, taken up by Social Psychologist Gustave Le Bon . According to Le Bon’s contagion theory, crowds exert a Hypnotic influence over their members through collective Suggestibility . Shielded by the anonymity of a crowd, people abandon personal Responsibility and surrender to the contagious emotions of the crowd. A crowd thus assumes a life of its own, stirring up emotions and driving people toward irrational, perhaps violent, action. However, according to Tarde's sociology, Leaders exerced a fundamental influence in the organization of spontaneous crowds into "corporations" (the Church, the State, the Army, the University, the Party, etc). Thus, whether spontaneous or organized, crowds were related through a special bond (hypnotism or imitation) with Charismatic figures. Tarde would also think about Public Opinion , considering modern crowds to be organized through Mass Media . He thus prefigured Marshall McLuhan 's famous thesis on the "message is the medium". Le Bon’s idea that crowds foster anonymity and sometimes generate emotion has became somewhat of a Cliché . Yet, this has been contested by some critics, such as Clark McPhail who points out that some studies allege that "the madding crowd" does not take on a life of its own, apart from the thoughts and intentions of members. Norris Johnson, after investigating a panic at a 1979 Who concert concluded that the crowd was composed of many small groups of people mostly trying to help each other. However, it must be noted that if Le Bon often refered to the cliché of the irrational crowd, which was current in the 19th century and before (in particular in the fields of , 1981 . Le Bon made abundant use of the concept of "collective soul". Sigmund Freud would criticize this notion of Collective Unconscious , asserting that crowds do not have a soul of their own, nor do specific ethnic groups have a '' Volkgeist ''. Rather, individuals Identify themselves to their leaders through their own "ideal ego" (that is, their Subjective representation of their leader). The Freudian concept of an "ideal ego" later became the Super-ego . Ultimately, leaders themselves identify themselves to an Idea . CONVERGENCE THEORY Convergence theory holds that crowd behavior is not a product of the crowd itself, but is carried into the crowd by particular individuals. Thus, crowds amount to a convergence of like-minded individuals. In other words, while contagion theory states that crowds cause people to act in a certain way, convergence theory says the opposite: that people who wish to act in a certain way come together to form crowds. An example of convergence theory is the practice sometimes observed when an immigrant population becomes common in a previously homogeneous area, and members of the existing community (apparently spontaneously) band together to threaten those trying to move into their neighborhoods. In such cases, convergence theorists contend, the crowd itself does not generate racial hatred or violence; rather, the hostility has been simmering for some time among many local people. A crowd then arises from convergence of people who oppose the presence of these neighbors. Convergence theory claims that crowd behavior as such is not irrational; rather, people in crowds express existing Belief s and Values so that the mob reaction is the rational product of widespread popular feeling. EMERGENT-NORM THEORY Ralph Turner and Lewis Killian developed the emergent-norm theory of crowd dynamics. These researchers concede that social behavior is never entirely predictable, but neither are crowds as irrational. If similar interests may draw people together, distinctive patterns of behavior may emerge in the crowd itself. Crowds begin as collectivities, acting, and protest crowds – norms may be vague and changing as when, say, one person at a rock concert holds up a lit cigarette lighter to signal praise for the performers, and other follow suit. In short, people in crowds make their own rules as they go along. Decision-making, then, plays a major role in crowd behavior, although casual observers of a crowd may not realize it. Crowd behavior reflects the desires of participants, but it is also guided by norms that emerge as the situation unfolds. Emergent-norm theory points out that people in a crowd take on different roles. Some step forward as leaders; others become lieutenants, rank-and-file followers, inactive bystanders or even opponents. REFERENCES BIBLIOGRAPHY
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