Thecrowd.ppt

The crowd ＊Charles-Marie-Gustave Le Bon (May 7, 1841 – December 13, 1931) was a French social psychologist, sociologist, and physicist. He was the author of several works in which he expounded theories of national traits, racial superiority, herd behavior, and crowd psychology. Ⅰ.Definition In its ordinary sense the word crowd means a gathering of individuals. From the psychological point of view the expression crowd assumes quite a different signification. It has special characteristics. The characteristics of the crowd ＊The turning in a fixed direction of the ideas and sentiments of individuals. ＊The disappearance of their personality. ＊Unconsciousness-the disappearance of brain activity and the predominance of medullar activity. Ⅱ.Crowd psychology ＊Convergence psychology ＊Decentralized responsibility psychology ＊Anonymous psychology Convergence psychology The individual opinion is often affected by the majority opinion,and individuals tend to change their own opinions to identity with the majority’s. Maslows hierarchy of needs Physiological needs Safety needs Love and belongingness Esteem Self-actualization Decentralized responsibility psychology Anonymous psychology Ⅲ. Crowd behavior ＊Contagion Theory ＊Convergence Theory ＊Emergent-Norm Theory Contagion Theory People get swept up in behaviors of others and act like herds of cattle—the “herd-mentality” Convergence Theory Crowd unity results when people share/converge on an interpretation of events Emergent-Norm Theory Behavior is guided by culture’s norms, and during collective behavior a norm will emerge—for example,students will insist on non-violent action during a protest. Liberty Leading the People Christan Borch, Copenhagen Business School.《Body to Body:on The Political Anatomy of Crowds》 He examined Walt Whitman’s poetry The crowd may liberate individuals and create a democratic transformation. A crowd is as easily heroic as criminal. Weigh