How Does The Emergent Norm Theory Work

Emergent norm theory is a theory used to explain collective behavior. Turner and Killian argue that the norms that ultimately govern a situation may not be initially apparent to the participants. Instead, norms emerge through a process of social interaction in which people look to others for cues and signs indicating various possibilities of what they might expect. Emergent norm theory explains that collective behavior has a long history of turning violent, such as in the cases of mobs and riots. However, collective  behavior also applies to  fads  that can cause some good. The ALS ice bucket challenge is an example of collective behavior that raised money towards medical research.   The Four Forms  of Behavior Researchers  think that emergent norm theory occurs in four forms. While sociologists  classify  the forms differently, the most common forms are  crowd, public, mass, and social movements.   Crowd While there is debate over most of the forms, crowds are the only form all sociologists agree on. It is believed that in effect, people revert to more animalistic tendencies, and it is speculated that crowds cause people to lose some rational thinking ability. Some psychologist thing crowds have three base emotions, fear, joy and anger. The latter is where violent outbursts  most commonly come from.   Public The difference between a crowd and the public is that the public has gathered on a single issue.  Once a decision is reached on the issue, the public usually disperses.   Mass The mass refers to the media created by groups to reach others. All mass media would fall under this category Social Movements A social movement is a movement to change some aspect of society. Because so much goes into the study of social movements they  are often considered  their own category of study.