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48-404: Mass appeal as a phenomenon of mass psychology may refer to: Mass psychology A category of social psychology known as " crowd psychology " or "mob psychology" examines how the psychology of a group of people differs from the psychology of any one person within the group. The study of crowd psychology looks into the actions and thought processes of both the individual members of

96-412: A constructionist approach to deviance. In his view, a behavior is deviant if and only if society at large considers it so. The broader social factors that go into the classification of a behavior as deviant are thus considered a valid subject of study. His research focuses on the deviant individuals (and behaviors) themselves, as well as the particular individuals and groups that play a part in classifying

144-702: A B.A. from Oberlin College (1960) and a Ph.D. in sociology from Columbia University (1966). He has taught at Columbia University, New York University , Florida Atlantic University , the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill , and Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. He is currently Professor Emeritus at the State University of New York at Stony Brook . He also teaches at the University of Maryland. Goode takes

192-450: A behavior either "really is" deviant or "really isn't", and that it is the task of the sociologist to discover and report on the truth of the matter, and what society at large believes is mostly irrelevant. According to the constructionist framework as espoused by Goode, an instance of "deviance" can exist as a social construct exclusively, completely separate from any actual behavior. In other words, "imaginary deviance" can exist that causes

240-553: A certain mental state. 3. Illegal instrumental use - Taking non-prescription drugs to accomplish a task or goal. 4. Illegal recreational use - Taking illegal drugs for fun or pleasure to experience euphoria. Marijuana (1969) seeks to bring to the reader the whole configuration of this mushrooming problem, which, like the Sexual Revolution and the New Politics, lies at the heart of the alienation felt by many young people and

288-474: A depressant, and in another it may be a stimulant. Deviant Behavior is a textbook intended for undergrad students. In it, Goode takes the position of a weak constructionist. Moral Panics: The Social Construction of Deviance , written with Nachman Ben-Yehuda , is a book about moral panics, from a sociological perspective. In Paranormal Beliefs: A Sociological Introduction (1999), Goode studies paranormal beliefs such as UFOs , ESP , and creationism using

336-399: A frenzy of interesting sociological behavior in response to a non-existence phenomenon. Satanic ritual abuse is an example of this in modern times, and the case of witch hunts is an example from antiquity. These are often called moral panics , and Goode considers them a valid subject (perhaps the ideal subject) for deviance studies. Erich Goode is known for his exploration and exposure of

384-656: A large number of people trying to get out of a dangerous situation like the November 2021 Astroworld Festival . Incidents involving crowds are often reported by media as the results of "panic", but some experts have criticized the media's implication that panic is a main cause of crowd disasters, noting that actual panic is relatively rare in fire situations, and that the major factors in dangerous crowd incidents are infrastructure design, crowd density and breakdowns in communication. Acquisitive mobs occur when large numbers of people are fighting for limited resources. An expressive mob

432-422: A mass sit-in. When a crowd described as above targets an individual, anti-social behaviors may emerge within its members. A major criticism of this theory is that the formation and following of new norms indicates a level of self-awareness that is often missing in the individuals in crowds (as evidenced by the study of deindividuation). Another criticism is that the idea of emergent norms fails to take into account

480-406: A negative way. It is when one no longer attends to the public reaction and judgement of individual behavior that antisocial behavior is elicited. Philip Zimbardo also did not view deindividuation exclusively as a group phenomenon, and applied the concept to suicide, murder, and interpersonal hostility. Convergence theory holds that crowd behavior is not a product of the crowd, but rather the crowd

528-516: A panic at a 1979 The Who concert concluded that the crowd was composed of many small groups of people mostly trying to help each other. Additionally, Le Bon's theory ignores the socio-cultural context of the crowd, which some theorists argue can disempower social change. R. Brown disputes the assumption that crowds are homogenous, suggesting instead that participants exist on a continuum, differing in their ability to deviate from social norms. Sigmund Freud 's crowd behavior theory primarily consists of

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576-447: A religious revival, and celebrations like Mardi Gras are a few examples.  An active crowd behaves violently or in other damaging ways, such looting, going above and beyond an expressive crowd. One of the main examples of an acting crowd is a mob, which is an extremely emotional group that either commits or is prepared to do violence. A crowd changes its level of emotional intensity over time, and therefore, can be classed in any one of

624-496: A second, the whole performance would go to pieces, and they would be left to panic." Deindividuation theory is largely based on the ideas of Gustave Le Bon and argues that in typical crowd situations, factors such as anonymity, group unity, and arousal can weaken personal controls (e.g. guilt, shame, self-evaluating behavior) by distancing people from their personal identities and reducing their concern for social evaluation. This lack of restraint increases individual sensitivity to

672-454: Is a product of the coming together of like-minded individuals. Floyd Allport argued that "An individual in a crowd behaves just as he would behave alone, only more so." Convergence theory holds that crowds form from people of similar dispositions, whose actions are then reinforced and intensified by the crowd. Convergence theory claims that crowd behavior is not irrational; rather, people in crowds express existing beliefs and values so that

720-405: Is any other large group of people gathering for an active purpose. Civil disobedience, rock concerts, and religious revivals all fall under this category. Gustave Le Bon held that crowds existed in three stages: submergence, contagion, and suggestion. During submergence, the individuals in the crowd lose their sense of individual self and personal responsibility. This is quite heavily induced by

768-432: Is difficult to directly link his works to crowd behavior, it may be said that his thoughts stimulated further study of crowd behavior. However, it was not until the latter half of the 19th century that scientific interest in the field gained momentum. French physician and anthropologist Gustave Le Bon became its most-influential theorist. There is limited research into the types of crowd and crowd membership and there

816-428: Is known as a conventional crowd. They could be going to a theater, concert, movie, or lecture. According to Erich Goode , conventional crowds behave in a very conventional and hence somewhat structured manner; as their name suggests, they do not truly act out collective behavior. A group of people who come together solely to show their excitement and feelings is known as an expressive crowd. A political candidate's rally,

864-433: Is no consensus as to the classification of types of crowds. Two recent scholars, Momboisse (1967) and Berlonghi (1995) focused upon purpose of existence to differentiate among crowds. Momboisse developed a system of four types: casual, conventional, expressive, and aggressive. Berlonghi classified crowds as spectator, demonstrator, or escaping, to correlate to the purpose for gathering. Another approach to classifying crowds

912-402: Is sociologist Herbert Blumer's system of emotional intensity. He distinguishes four types of crowds: casual, conventional, expressive, and active. A group of people who just so happen to be at the same location at the same time is known as a casual crowd. This kind of mob lacks any true identity, long-term goal, or shared connection. A group of individuals who come together for a particular reason

960-409: Is therefore uncivilized in nature. It is limited by the moral and cognitive abilities of the least capable members. Le Bon believed that crowds could be a powerful force only for destruction. Additionally, Le Bon and others have indicated that crowd members feel a lessened sense of legal culpability, due to the difficulty in prosecuting individual members of a mob. In short, the individual submerged in

1008-400: Is unacceptable. This standard is formed from stated values, but also from the actions of others in the crowd, and sometimes from a few in leadership-type positions. A concern with this theory is that while it explains how crowds reflect social ideas and prevailing attitudes, it does not explain the mechanisms by which crowds enact to drive social change. Erich Goode Goode received

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1056-568: The crowd and of the crowd as a collective social entity . The behavior of a crowd is much influenced by deindividuation (seen as a person's loss of responsibility ) and by the person's impression of the universality of behavior, both of which conditions increase in magnitude with size of the crowd. Notable theorists in crowd psychology include Gustave Le Bon (1841-1931), Gabriel Tarde (1843-1904), and Sigmund Freud (1856-1939). Many of these theories are today tested or used to simulate crowd behaviors in normal or emergency situations. One of

1104-399: The " moral panic " concept. He takes a "harm reductionist" approach to studying social deviance. This commitment aims to reduce social harm without engaging in value judgments or essentialist claims about those being studied. Goode has encountered criticism within the sociological community after admitting in an article in 2002 to engaging in casual sex with participants to his 1980s study of

1152-459: The Jews are the devil, do they completely believe in their leader. They do not really identify themselves with him but act this identification, perform their own enthusiasm, and thus participate in their leader's performance. ... It is probably the suspicion of this fictitiousness of their own 'group psychology' which makes fascist crowds so merciless and unapproachable. If they would stop to reason for

1200-562: The National Association for the Advancement of Fat Acceptance, or NAAFA . Such behavior is generally considered unethical for researchers. Critics argue that Goode's position as an investigator took advantage of the women involved in his work. 1. Legal instrumental use - Taking prescribed drugs and over the counter drugs to relieve or treat symptoms. 2. Legal recreational use - Using legal (tobacco, alcohol, caffeine) drugs to achieve

1248-531: The anonymity of the crowd. Contagion refers to the propensity for individuals in a crowd to unquestioningly follow the predominant ideas and emotions of the crowd. In Le Bon's view, this effect is capable of spreading between "submerged" individuals much like a disease. Suggestion refers to the period in which the ideas and emotions of the crowd are primarily drawn from a shared unconscious ideology. Crowd members become susceptible to any passing idea or emotion. This behavior comes from an archaic shared unconscious and

1296-407: The behavior as deviant. As a sociologist, Goode makes no judgment about whether a particular is "bad" or "evil", and considers deviance as a topic to be entirely dependent on whether the society at large considers the behavior deviant. In this view, a particular behavior can be deviant in one society, but normal in another. This is in contrast to the perspective of essentialism , which would say that

1344-450: The bourgeois subject dissolved itself, giving way to the Id and the "de-psychologized" subject. Furthermore, Adorno stated the bond linking the masses to the leader through the spectacle is feigned: "When the leaders become conscious of mass psychology and take it into their own hands, it ceases to exist in a certain sense. ... Just as little as people believe in the depth of their hearts that

1392-521: The concept of deindividuation in 1952. It was further refined by American psychologist Philip Zimbardo , who detailed why mental input and output became blurred by such factors as anonymity, lack of social constraints, and sensory overload. Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment has been presented as a strong argument for the power of deindividuation, although it was later criticised as unscientific. Further experimentation has had mixed results when it comes to aggressive behaviors, and has instead shown that

1440-434: The crowd loses self control as the "collective mind" takes over and makes the crowd member capable of violating personal or social norms. Le Bon's idea that crowds foster anonymity and generate emotion has been contested by some critics. Clark McPhail points out studies which show 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

1488-433: The environment and lessens rational forethought, which can lead to antisocial behavior. More recent theories have stated that deindividuation hinges upon a person being unable, due to situation, to have strong awareness of their self as an object of attention. This lack of attention frees the individual from the necessity of normal social behavior. American social psychologist Leon Festinger and colleagues first elaborated

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1536-556: The facts, and that the important factor was the social environment." In Paris during 10–17 August 1889, the Italian school received a stronger rebuke of their biological theories during the 2nd International Congress of Criminal Anthropology. A radical divergence in the views between the Italian and the French schools was reflected in the proceedings. Earlier, literature on crowds and crowd behavior had appeared as early as 1841, with

1584-475: The fears of social breakdown voiced by many of their elders. Atherton Press, Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 68-56981 In The Marijuana Smokers (1971), Goode looked at marijuana through a sociological lens. In Drugs in American Society , Goode argued that the effect of a drug is dependent on the societal context in which it is taken. Thus, in one society (or social context) a particular drug may be

1632-469: The four types. Generally, researchers in crowd psychology have focused on the negative aspects of crowds, but not all crowds are volatile or negative in nature. For example, in the beginning of the socialist movement crowds were asked to put on their Sunday dress and march silently down the street. A more-modern example involves the sit-ins during the Civil Rights movement . Crowds can reflect and challenge

1680-549: The held ideologies of their sociocultural environment. They can also serve integrative social functions, creating temporary communities. Crowds can be defined as active ("mobs") or passive ("audiences"). Active crowds can be further divided into aggressive, escapist, acquisitive, or expressive mobs. Aggressive mobs are often violent and outwardly focused. Examples are football riots , the Los Angeles riots of 1992 , and t he 2011 English riots . Escapist mobs are characterized by

1728-412: The idea that becoming a member of a crowd serves to unlock the unconscious mind. This occurs because the super-ego , or moral center of consciousness, is displaced by the larger crowd, to be replaced by a charismatic crowd leader. McDougall argues similarly to Freud, saying that simplistic emotions are widespread, and complex emotions are rarer. In a crowd, the overall shared emotional experience reverts to

1776-516: The individual's actions depend on which group membership (or non-membership) is most personally salient at the time of action. This influence is evidenced by findings that when the stated purpose and values of a group changes, the values and motives of its members also change. Crowds are an amalgam of individuals, all of whom belong to various overlapping groups. However, if the crowd is primarily related to some identifiable group (such as Christians or Hindus or Muslims or civil-rights activists), then

1824-461: The individuals' intents. Ralph H. Turner and Lewis Killian put forth the idea that norms emerge from within the crowd. Emergent norm theory states that crowds have little unity at their outset, but during a period of milling about, key members suggest appropriate actions, and following members fall in line, forming the basis for the crowd's norms. Key members are identified through distinctive personalities or behaviors. These garner attention, and

1872-431: The lack of negative response elicited from the crowd as a whole stands as tacit agreement to their legitimacy. The followers form the majority of the mob, as people tend to be creatures of conformity who are heavily influenced by the opinions of others. This has been shown in the conformity studies conducted by Sherif and Asch . Crowd members are further convinced by the universality phenomenon, described by Allport as

1920-467: The least common denominator (LCD), leading to primitive levels of emotional expression. This organizational structure is that of the "primal horde"—pre-civilized society—and Freud states that one must rebel against the leader (re-instate the individual morality) in order to escape from it. Theodor Adorno criticized the belief in a spontaneity of the masses: according to him, the masses were an artificial product of "administrated" modern life. The Ego of

1968-410: The main focuses in these simulation works aims to prevent crowd crushes and stampedes. According to his biological theory of criminology suggests that criminality is inherited and that someone “born criminal” could be identified by the way they look Enrico Ferri expressed his view of crime as degeneration more profound than insanity, for in most insane persons the primitive moral sense has survived

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2016-414: The mob reaction is the rational product of widespread popular feeling. However, this theory is questioned by certain research which found that people involved in the 1970s riots were less likely than nonparticipant peers to have previous convictions. Critics of this theory report that it still excludes the social determination of self and action, in that it argues that all actions of the crowd are born from

2064-416: The normative expectations surrounding the situations of deindividuation influence behavior (i.e. if one is deindividuated as a KKK member, aggression increases, but if it is as a nurse, aggression does not increase). A further distinction has been proposed between public and private deindividuation. When private aspects of self are weakened, one becomes more subject to crowd impulses, but not necessarily in

2112-410: The persuasive tendency of the idea that if everyone in the mob is acting in such-and-such a way, then it cannot be wrong. Emergent norm theory allows for both positive and negative mob types, as the distinctive characteristics and behaviors of key figures can be positive or negative in nature. An antisocial leader can incite violent action, but an influential voice of non-violence in a crowd can lead to

2160-407: The presence of existent sociocultural norms. Additionally, the theory fails to explain why certain suggestions or individuals rise to normative status while others do not. The social identity theory posits that the self is a complex system made up primarily of the concept of membership or non-membership in various social groups. These groups have various moral and behavioral values and norms, and

2208-500: The publication of Charles Mackay 's book Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds . The attitude towards crowds underwent an adjustment with the publication of Hippolyte Taine 's six-volume The Origins of Contemporary France (1875). In particular Taine's work helped to change the opinions of his contemporaries on the actions taken by the crowds during the 1789 Revolution. Many Europeans held him in great esteem. While it

2256-421: The values of that group will dictate the crowd's action. In crowds which are more ambiguous, individuals will assume a new social identity as a member of the crowd. This group membership is made more salient by confrontation with other groups – a relatively common occurrence for crowds. The group identity serves to create a set of standards for behavior; for certain groups violence is legitimate, for others it

2304-461: The wreck of their intelligence. Along similar lines were the remarks of Benedickt , Sergi and Marro . A response from the French, who put forward an environmental theory of human psychology, M. Anguilli called attention to the importance of the influence of the social environment upon crime. Professor Alexandre Lacassagne thought that the atavistic and degenerative theories as held by the Italian school were exaggerations and false interpretations of

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