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Block 4 Unit 3 Social Identity, Crowding and Crowd Behaviour

1. Explain crowd behaviour.

Crowd behaviour is the way a group of people act when they come together in a public space. It is often characterised by de-individuation, where individuals lose their sense of personal identity and become more influenced by the crowd. Additionally, crowd behaviour can range from collective enthusiasm to chaotic and disruptive actions.

2. What is classical theory?

The classical theory of crowd behaviour, which is not fully explained in the sources, focuses on the idea that individuals in a crowd lose their sense of rationality and become driven by emotions and the group mind. The classical theory also argues that there is an effect of suggestion, where one person's feelings and actions are spread throughout the group like a contagious disease, and it emphasizes the irrational and impulsive behaviour of people in crowds.

3. Explain convergence theory.

The convergence theory suggests that crowd behaviour is not about de-individuation, but rather about the convergence of individuals who already share similar attitudes, values, or traits. It proposes that people with similar dispositions come together in a crowd and this leads to actions that reflect those shared traits.

4. Write features of collective behaviour.

The main features of collective behaviour include:

• It often involves large groups of people.
• It can be spontaneous and relatively unstructured.
• It can be driven by shared emotions and ideas.

5. What is identity?

Identity refers to an individual's self-concept and how they perceive themselves in relation to their social world.

6. What do you mean by the term “social identity”?

Social identity refers to the aspects of an individual's self-concept derived from membership in social groups and how they are conceptualized by their social belonging.

7. Write in brief about “social identity theory”.

Social identity theory proposes that a significant part of an individual's self-concept comes from their membership in social groups. This theory explains how people categorize themselves and others into in-groups and out-groups, impacting behaviour, self-esteem, and intergroup relations.

8. What is crowd? Briefly discuss about the crowd behavior.

A crowd is a large gathering of people in a public space. Crowd behaviour can include a range of actions including enthusiasm or chaos and disruption and is often influenced by de-individuation and shared emotions.

9. What do you mean by the term mob, audience and mass society?

A mob is a specific type of crowd characterized by its potential for violence and aggression; an audience is a group assembled to witness an event; mass society is a large, modern, industrial society characterized by its scale and complexity and can be the context in which collective behaviours manifest.

10. Describe mass society and audience.

Mass society is a large, modern, industrialised society with complex social structures, and an audience is a group of people gathered to witness or participate in an event or performance.

11. Describe mob and fashion.

A mob is a group of people that are driven by an intense emotion, especially anger, and are likely to engage in violence. Fashion is a type of collective behaviour, which involves changes in trends and style, especially in clothing and adornment, that are often widely adopted by a large number of people.

12. What does social identity explain?

Social identity theory explains how people develop a sense of membership and belonging in particular groups. It highlights that people don't just have a personal self but also several selves corresponding to different group memberships. Social identity theory suggests that individuals seek out group membership as an affirmation of self-esteem. However, simply belonging to a group isn't enough; individuals also seek a positive distinction between their group and other groups. Social identity theory also explores how people conceptualise themselves and how they evaluate themselves, which can include feelings, beliefs and self-evaluation.

13. What are the four elements Social identity is composed of?

Social identity is composed of four main elements:

• Categorisation: This is the process of identifying oneself as a member of a particular group.
• Identification: This involves internalising the norms and values of the group.
• Comparison: This is the act of comparing one's group to other groups, which is often done to establish a positive distinctiveness for one's own group.
• Psychological distinctiveness: This relates to the need to see one's group as unique and different from others.

14. Define what is crowd?

A crowd is a physically compact group of people brought together in direct, temporary, and unorganised contact. It is a transient and unstable social group lacking any predefined structure or characteristic expression. Crowds form due to shared curiosity, interest, or other temporary causes, and dissolve when these causes disappear. A crowd can also be understood as a gathering of a considerable number of people around a common point of attraction.

15. What are the two classes of crowd?

Crowds can be broadly classified into two classes:

• Active Crowd: This type of crowd is actively engaged in some form of behaviour. It can be further classified into four categories:
  • Casual Crowd: This is a temporary gathering without any specific purpose.
  • Conventional Crowd: This is a gathering of people adhering to specific norms and rules like a crowd in a religious festival.
  • Acquisitive Crowd: The members of this type of crowd are focused on obtaining something, such as a ticket or a product.
  • Expressive Crowd: In this crowd people express their demands or sentiments and there is relatively less violence.
• Inactive Crowd: Although no crowd is completely inactive, this classification is applied to crowds who appear passive, sometimes resembling an audience.

16. Who advocate the group-mind theory?

The group-mind theory has been advocated by several scholars, including:

• Le Bon
• Espinas
• Trotter
• Durkheim
• McDougall
• Allport

17. Differentiate between public and crowd in your own words.

While both public and crowds are collectivities of people, they differ in several ways:

• Physical contact: A crowd involves physical proximity and direct contact among members, whereas a public is a scattered group.
• Size: A public is typically a much larger group than a crowd.
• Stimulus: In a crowd, the stimulus is simultaneous and immediate, while in a public, it is diffused.
• Suggestibility: Crowds are generally more suggestible than the public.
• Organisation: Publics are typically more organised than crowds, although both tend to be unorganised groupings of people.

Important Points

1. Self-concept also includes all of the information and feelings relevant to our past, present and future.
2. All Mass society, audience, mob, fashion are called under the category of collective behaviour.
3. Two types of audience are active and inactive.
4. Mob behaviour is conditioned by three factors: hostility, aggressiveness and common quality.