Aspects of Collective Behavior: Fads, Mass Hysteria, and Riots | Behavior | MCAT | Khan Academy

Summary

This video script explores the concept of collective behavior in sociology, distinguishing it from group behavior by its time-limited, open participation, and weak norms. It outlines three types: fads, which are short-lived but widespread behaviors; mass hysteria, where groups experience shared delusions and anxiety; and riots, which involve large-scale deviant acts. Examples like the cinnamon challenge, weather-induced panic, and false anthrax alarms illustrate these behaviors, highlighting how group dynamics can lead to deviance outside societal norms.

Takeaways

• 👥 Collective behavior is distinct from group behavior due to differences in duration, social boundaries, and the clarity of norms.
• ⏳ Collective behavior is time-limited, involving short social interactions unlike groups which may socialize for extended periods.
• 🌐 There are no social boundaries in collective behavior, allowing anyone to participate freely, unlike groups which can be exclusive.
• 💭 Norms in collective behavior are weak and unclear, contrasting with the strong and well-defined norms within established groups.
• 🚫 Collective behavior often violates widely held societal norms and can sometimes be destructive.
• 🤹 Deindividuation, a social psychology concept, can encourage deviant acts within groups and collectives.
• 🔎 Sociologists have identified three basic types of collective behavior: fads, mass hysteria, and riots.
• 🍂 A fad is a fleeting behavior that gains quick popularity and then just as quickly loses it, influencing many but not aligned with normal behavior.
• 🌪️ Mass hysteria occurs when large groups experience shared delusions and anxiety, often triggered by rumors or perceived threats.
• 🛑 Riots involve large groups engaging in deviant behavior like vandalism and violence, often as an act of defiance or disapproval.
• 🌀 The causes of riots can be legitimate issues, but the group's response is often illegal and damaging to society.

Q & A

What is the definition of collective behavior in sociology?

Collective behavior in sociology refers to actions where large numbers of individuals rapidly and randomly behave in ways that do not reflect societal norms.

How does collective behavior differ from group behavior?

Collective behavior is typically time-limited with short social interactions and no social boundaries, whereas group behavior involves longer-term socialization and can be exclusive with membership requirements.

What are the characteristics of norms within collective behavior?

Norms within collective behavior are generally weak and murky, often violating widely held societal norms.

What role does deindividuation play in collective behavior?

Deindividuation, a concept from social psychology, encourages people within a collective to engage in acts they may consider deviant or wrong under normal circumstances.

What are the three basic types of collective behavior identified by sociologists?

The three basic types of collective behavior are fads, mass hysteria, and riots.

Can you describe a fad and provide an example?

A fad is a fleeting behavior that becomes incredibly popular very quickly and then loses popularity just as fast. An example is the cinnamon challenge, where people attempt to eat a large spoonful of ground cinnamon in under a minute and post videos online.

What is mass hysteria and how does it spread?

Mass hysteria involves large groups of people experiencing unmanageable delusions and anxiety simultaneously. It spreads rapidly through rumors and fear.

Can you explain mild mass hysteria and provide a real-world example?

Mild mass hysteria can occur in response to negative news or potential threats, such as severe weather forecasts that induce fear and anxiety in large groups, leading to irrational behavior.

What is meant by mass psychogenic illness or epidemic hysteria?

Mass psychogenic illness or epidemic hysteria is when large groups of individuals suddenly believe they have the same illness and experience similar physical symptoms despite no actual disease.

Describe a riot from a sociological perspective and its typical characteristics.

A riot, from a sociological perspective, is characterized by large groups of people suddenly engaging in deviant behavior like vandalism and violence. It is chaotic, often resulting in significant property damage and societal disapproval.

What are some common causes of riots according to the script?

Riots can be caused by perceived issues such as anger about the outcome of a sporting event, frustration with working or living conditions, or conflicts between races and religions.

Outlines

00:00

🤔 Understanding Collective Behavior

This paragraph introduces the concept of collective behavior in sociology, distinguishing it from group behavior. It emphasizes the time-limited nature of collective behavior, its open participation, and the weak and unclear norms that emerge within it, often violating societal norms. The paragraph also touches on the role of group dynamics, such as deindividuation, which can lead individuals to act in ways they might consider deviant under normal circumstances. Three types of collective behavior are identified: fads, mass hysteria, and riots, with the promise of a detailed examination of each in subsequent discussion.

05:02

🎉 Fads, Mass Hysteria, and Riots: Forms of Collective Behavior

The second paragraph delves into the specifics of the three types of collective behavior mentioned earlier. Fads are described as short-lived but widely popular behaviors that deviate from the norm, exemplified by the 'cinnamon challenge', which quickly gained and lost popularity. Mass hysteria is portrayed as a phenomenon where large groups experience shared delusions and anxiety, often triggered by rumors or fear, with examples ranging from weather-induced panic to mass psychogenic illness, such as the false anthrax alarms following the anthrax attacks in the United States. Riots are characterized as chaotic and destructive events where individuals engage in deviant behavior like vandalism and violence, often as a response to perceived societal issues, despite the illegality and harm caused to the community. The paragraph concludes by reinforcing the understanding of these collective behaviors from a sociological perspective.

Keywords

💡Collective Behavior

Collective behavior refers to actions taken by a large number of individuals that are not reflective of societal norms and occur rapidly and randomly. It is a key concept in the video, as it differentiates from group behavior by being time-limited and not having social boundaries. The video discusses how collective behavior can lead to phenomena like fads, mass hysteria, and riots, which all violate societal norms and can be destructive.

💡Group Behavior

Group behavior is distinct from collective behavior as it involves social interactions that last longer and often have membership requirements or exclusivity. The video emphasizes that while collective behavior is time-limited and open to anyone, group behavior has strongly held and well-defined norms, contrasting with the weak and murky norms produced by collective behavior.

💡Deindividuation

Deindividuation is a social psychological concept where individuals lose their sense of personal identity and responsibility when in a group, leading them to engage in behaviors they might consider deviant or wrong under normal circumstances. The video mentions deindividuation as a group dynamic that can drive collective behavior, encouraging actions that violate societal norms.

💡Fads

Fads are a type of collective behavior characterized by a behavior or trend that becomes very popular in a short amount of time and then quickly loses popularity. The video uses the example of the 'cinnamon challenge' to illustrate fads, where people engaged in an unusual and potentially harmful activity because it was perceived as cool or interesting by many.

💡Mass Hysteria

Mass hysteria is a phenomenon where large groups of people experience unmanageable delusions and anxiety simultaneously, often triggered by rumors or fear. The video describes mass hysteria as a form of collective behavior that can manifest through panicked reactions to negative news or perceived threats, such as the reaction to severe weather forecasts or false anthrax alarms.

💡Riots

Riots are a form of collective behavior marked by large groups engaging in deviant behavior like vandalism, violence, or crime. The video explains that riots are chaotic and costly, often resulting from a perceived issue or conflict, and represent a collective act of defiance or disapproval, even if the underlying cause is legitimate.

💡Societal Norms

Societal norms are the unwritten rules and expectations that govern behavior in a society. The video discusses how collective behavior, including fads, mass hysteria, and riots, generally violates these widely held norms, leading to actions that are considered deviant or destructive by the broader society.

💡Cinnamon Challenge

The cinnamon challenge is a specific example of a fad mentioned in the video. It involves attempting to eat a large spoonful of ground cinnamon in under a minute and recording the attempt to post online. This challenge gained popularity quickly but was also noted for its potential to cause gagging, coughing, or vomiting, illustrating the fleeting and sometimes risky nature of fads.

💡Anthrax Attacks

The anthrax attacks in the United States are used in the video as an example of mass hysteria. After the attacks, there were over 2,000 false anthrax alarms and many individuals reported physical symptoms of anthrax infection despite not being exposed, demonstrating how fear and anxiety can lead to widespread delusions and irrational behavior.

💡Mass Psychogenic Illness

Mass psychogenic illness, also known as epidemic hysteria, is a term used in the video to describe a situation where a large group of people suddenly believe they have the same illness and experience similar physical symptoms, even without a disease being present. This is an example of how mass hysteria can manifest psychologically.

Highlights

Collective behavior is a sociological phenomenon where large numbers of individuals rapidly and randomly behave in ways that do not reflect societal norms.

Collective behavior differs from group behavior in terms of time-limited interactions and lack of social boundaries.

Collective behavior produces weak and murky norms that often violate widely held societal norms.

Group dynamics such as deindividuation can encourage deviant behavior in collective behavior.

Sociologists have identified three basic types of collective behavior: Fads, Mass Hysteria, and Riots.

A fad is a fleeting behavior that becomes incredibly popular very quickly and then loses popularity just as fast.

The cinnamon challenge is an example of a fad where people attempt to eat a large spoonful of ground cinnamon in under a minute.

Mass hysteria involves large groups of people experiencing unmanageable delusions and anxiety at the same time.

Mass hysteria can be triggered by panicked reactions to negative news or potential threats.

An example of mild mass hysteria is the reaction to severe weather forecasts that induce fear and anxiety in large groups of people.

Mass psychogenic illness or epidemic hysteria is a form of mass hysteria where people believe they have the same illness and experience similar symptoms without a disease.

After the anthrax attacks in the United States, there were over 2,000 false anthrax alarms and many individuals reported physical symptoms despite no risk of infection.

Riots are characterized by large groups of people engaging in deviant behavior like vandalism, violence, or other crimes.

Riots are chaotic, causing significant damages to cities and violating societal norms.

Riots can be the result of perceived issues like anger about a sporting event outcome or frustration with living conditions.

Understanding collective behaviors such as fads, mass hysteria, and riots provides insight into sociological perspectives on group dynamics and societal norms.

Transcripts

Voiceover: In our last few videos, we discussed norms and deviants, and outlined some potential

ways in which changes in norms and deviants can occur on an individual level.

But what happens when large numbers of individuals rapidly and

randomly behave in ways that do not reflect societal norms?

In sociology, this phenomenon is called collective behavior.

Now collective behavior is not the same thing as

group behavior, and that's because of a few reasons.

First, collective behavior typically is time-limited.

It involves short social interactions, whereas groups tend to

remain together longer and socialize for extended periods of time.

Secondly, while collective behavior is time limited, it isn't socially limited.

There are no social boundaries, and anyone is free to participate in

a collective, whereas groups can be

exclusive or have like, membership requirements.

Lastly, norms within groups are generally strongly held and well-defined.

Whereas collective behavior produces norms that are weak and murky.

Collective behavior generally violates widely held societal norms,

and at times it can be very destructive.

Though it's not the same as group

behavior, it's often driven by group dynamics.

Things like deindividuation, which is a concept

I discuss in the social psychology videos.

You don't need to know the specifics, but

just know that certain group dynamics, can often

times encourage people to engage in acts that

they may consider deviant or wrong under normal circumstances.

And these group, these same group dynamics can happen in a collective as well.

Now, sociologists have identified three basic types

of collective behavior: Fads, Mass Hysteria, and Riots.

You've probably heard all of these terms before and you probably have a general

idea what they are but I wanna

discuss them from the perspective of a sociologist.

Get the official true understanding of what this means.

So, let's examine each of these in a little more detail.

A fad, or a fleeting behavior, is something that becomes incredibly

popular very quickly, and then loses popularity almost just as quickly.

Fads typically last for a very short period of time, but

they reach and influence large numbers of people in that time.

Fads are not necessarily in line with normal behavior, but because they're

perceived as cool or interesting by large group of people, they gain popularity.

A good example of a fad is a cinnamon

challenge, and you may have seen this on YouTube.

In order to conquer the cinnamon challenge, a person has to

eat a large spoonful of ground cinnamon in under a minute.

Now, part of this fad involved taping the attempt and posting the video online.

Now, while this might sound like a breeze, I don't suggest trying this at home.

Most people who do the cinnamon challenge end up gagging, coughing, or vomiting.

It seems pretty silly, right?

Well, despite the fact that a challenge

is pretty silly and definitely not normal behavior,

I mean, people don't usually eat a

spoonful of cinnamon in less than a minute.

If you look up the challenge on YouTube you'll see there

are over like 600,000 attempts, but after the novelty of the challenge

wore off and people realized how unpleasant it was, they stopped

doing it and it became less popular and thus the fad ended.

So that's what a fad is.

The second example of collective behavior is mass hysteria.

Mass hysteria involves large groups of people who

experience unmanageable delusions and anxiety at the same time.

The reactions spread rapidly and reach more people through rumors and fear.

Mass hysteria often takes the form of panicked

reactions to negative news or a potential threat.

A good example of mild mass hysteria is the reaction that often takes place.

When there's a chance of severe weather coming.

Now, all major news outlets cover the forecast incessantly, and

they induce fear and anxiety in large groups of people.

The fear causes people to become crazed.

They rush to the supermarket, they drive erratically, they become irrational.

So that's like a mild form of

mass hysteria that's caused from weather reports.

However mass hysteria can also be the result of psychology.

Like when large groups of individuals suddenly believe they have the

same illness and experience similar physical

symptoms despite a lack of disease.

This is sometimes called mass psychogenic illness or epidemic hysteria.

A recent example of this came after the anthrax attacks in the United States.

Immediately after, there were reports of an anthrax attack.

There were over 2,000 false anthrax alarms.

Many individuals reported physical symptoms of anthrax

infection, and they were afraid of exposure.

Although, it was found that there, there was no risk of

infection for those, those people because they weren't exposed to anthrax.

They just thought they were.

Regardless, it still induced symptoms in these patients that were real symptoms.

So that's mass hysteria.

Now the final example of collective behavior

that we'll talk about today is a riot.

Now riots are characterized by large groups of people that

suddenly engage in deviant behavior like vandalism, violence or other crimes.

Riots are typically very chaotic and cost

cities thousands or millions of dollars in damages.

Individuals who act out during riots, they typically cast

aside societal norms and they behave in very destructive ways.

They ruin property, they steal.

And they violate laws indiscriminately.

Riots are often seen as a collective act of defiance or

disapproval and they can be the result of a perceived issue

like anger about the outcome of a sporting event or frustration

with working or living conditions or conflicts between races and religions.

Though the cause of the riot may be legitimate, the group acts out

in ways that are illegal and damaging to a society as a whole.

So, that's a riot.

So, these are some aspects of collective behaviors.

You have fads, mass hysteria and riots.

So, you've probably heard these terms before.

And hopefully now, you have a better understanding

of what they mean, particularly from a sociological standpoint.