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Outline on Herbert
Blumer's Contagion Theory
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External
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- Project: Blumer on Crowd
Dev; Masses & Crowds; Strain, Soc Probs & Col Beh |
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BLUMER'S SYMBOLIC INTERACTIONISM |
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Symbolic interaction is a major paradigm in sociology that is micro
oriented, generally avoids political topic, & focuses on social psychological
issues, & Blumer's sym int follows suit, except that col beh often
strays into social political analysis |
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For Blumer, symbolic interactionism is the link btwn the micro &
macro worlds |
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Symbolic interactionism sees structures as acts which are built up
by people through their interpretation of the situation |
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Blumer criticizes structural functionalists who see deterministic structures
as external & coercive to individuals |
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Blumer accepted Mead's idea of macro structures emerging from micro-structures |
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Blumer emphasized that structures are well established & repetitive
in form |
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Structures both enable & coerce & are not all pervasive |
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Structures must constantly be re-enacted or they will shatter |
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Structures leave many unprescribed areas; i.e., social structures do
not pervade every sphere of life |
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It is often is the social unprescribed areas of life, i.e. those areas
where there is little or no routine behavior, i.e. social structures, where
col beh emerges, since col beh, as has been observed is nearly always unique
& non routine in nature |
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Though w/ the common existence of col beh & soc mvmts in the West,
there is a sense in which these social activities are becoming 'normal'
in that while most people have not been in a protest, they understand &
recognize them |
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INTRO TO BLUMER ON CONTAGION THEORY |
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Blumer combined LeBon's & Park's 1939 ideas into his own version
of contagion theory in "The Field of Collective Behavior." 1969 |
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Blumer is an American sociologist primarily interested in small group
interaction |
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Blumer developed the concept of the "acting crowd" which is
an excited group that moves toward a goal |
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Blumer examines:
crowds
mobs
panics
manias
dancing crazes
stampedes
mass behavior
public opinion
propaganda
fashion
fads
social movements
revolutions
reforms |
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Blumer's list of concepts, actors, collectivities, etc., established
collective behavior as behavior that people would not normally engage in,
but they do it because they are not thinking clearly |
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Like Park, Blumer mixes collective behavior w/ normal group
behavior & sees common elements |
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Under normal conditions, people engage in interpretive interaction
in that we interpret the words &/or actions of others & base our
behavior on those interactions |
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See Also: Symbolic Interactionism |
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In crowd situations, people engage in circular reaction, where
they react w/o thinking or interpreting |
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Like LeBon & Park, Blumer believes people reach a point where they
cease
to think rationally about their behavior |
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Collective behavior allows people to break established rules &
routines of crowd life |
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Blumer's conception that people break established rules & routines
is an important concept that is later developed in emergent norm theory |
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CROWD DEVELOPMENT |
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For Blumer, there are FIVE steps that turn a collection of individuals
into an active crowd |
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1. Social unrest: Because of his roots in S-I, Blumer
does not focus on "external factors" such as social unrest, however he
is going farther than most S-Iists in even mentioning them |
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2. Exciting event: "external factors" are not the
focus of S-I, yet Blumer does understand the role of exciting events |
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For Blumer & S-Iists, exciting events are more a function of the
people viewing them that they are of historical or structural factors |
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A noteworthy critique of Blumer & contagion theory is that exciting
events are not purely in the perception of the subject in that many people
would not the inherent, universal, historical significance of such exciting
events as winning a battle or championship, the Rodney King video or any
police / military violence, the appearance of royalty or a rock star |
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3. Milling begins w/ people behaving in an aimless & random
manner & attention is drawn by some sort of excitement which causes
tension |
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For Blumer, when milling, people become extremely sensitive & responsive
to each other & become increasingly preoccupied w/ each other &
decreasingly responsive to ordinary external stimuli |
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When milling, people pay so much attention to each other that they
start to ignore the rest of the world |
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Collective excitement is a more intense form of milling where
the excited behavior of others makes it difficult to think about anything
else & sets the stage for contagious behavior |
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In crowds, milling & contagion effectively eliminate independent
thought, i.e., Blumer believes that from this point on, people are less
than rational |
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4. In Blumer's forth stage of the formation of an active crowd,
people come to focus on a common object of attention |
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In contrast to symbolic interactionism, collective behavior focuses
on "external factors" whereas, symbolic interactionism focus primarily
on internal factors or actors in the small group setting such as the significant
other |
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For Blumer, in a crowd, people have become emotionally aroused, unstable,
unresponsive to logic, & irresponsible |
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When a common focus of attention occurs, a common set
of beliefs forms
[ Precursor to Emergent Norm Theory
] |
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A common focus of attention & a common set of beliefs make it possible
for the crowd to act w/ unity & purpose |
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5. Social contagion is the rapid, unwitting, irrational
dissemination of a mood, impulse, or behavior |
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For Blumer, during social contagion, people become so worked up, emotional
& distracted that they are
unable to think clearly |
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During social contagion, people lose their social resistance
because they lose self consciousness & they lose the ability to
interpret the actions of others |
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During social contagion, instead of interpreting, thinking & then
acting in, they quickly & blindly react to whatever is going
on |
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During social contagion, people are more likely to follow impulses
& thus the behavior common spreads like a contagion |
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LeBon & Blumer view "the mass" very differently |
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For LeBon the mass is the general citizenry of a territory & not
a collective group |
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For Blumer the mass is the unique type of collective group that is
composed of anonymous individuals who do not directly interact w/ each
other |
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For Blumer, people who watch a dramatic event on TV & independently
decide to build bomb shelters are a mass |
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For Blumer, people who see a dramatic event such as a bombing &
decide to assault the person who they believe to be the bomber are a crowd |
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Other social theorist have called Blumer's type of mass the diffuse
crowd |
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MASSES & CROWDS |
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Masses experience the same factors as the crowd, except
they are not in a common location |
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Masses & crowd often demonstrate different qualities & have
different contexts or environments |
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1. Both masses & crowds are more likely to form in
the context of social unrest, i.e. changing social forces |
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2. Both masses & crowds are more likely to form in
the context of an exciting event |
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Crowds often experience a commonly viewed exciting event |
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Masses do not have a commonly viewed exciting event but in the modern
world it may be commonly experienced through the media, internet, newspapers,
books, word of mouth, etc. |
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Masses are most often composed of detached & alienated individuals
who focus on things that are interesting but puzzling |
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For Blumer, masses cannot engage in milling, and thus they have no
behavioral cues to help them decide what to do |
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3. People in masses experience no milling because
milling gets its effect when people get cues from other people who are
milling |
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Members of a mass are extremely self conscious, confused & uncertain
in their actions |
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Members of a crowd are less self conscious than members of a mass because
they have other people "supporting" them |
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Members of a mass may engage in individual "soul searching," &
they may arrive at similar conclusions but they have less supporting behavioral
cues to help them decide what to do |
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4. Both masses & crowds have a common object of
attention but for masses it is viewed remotely or indirectly, &
not in common while for crowds the common object of attention is usually
directly & in common |
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Both masses & crowds act in response to an object that has gained
their attention & on the basis of impulses aroused by it |
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5. Both masses & crowds have social contagion
in that people do act similarly & seem to be acting in unity |
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Masses are more likely to act separately but in the same manner
& thus can have a tremendous impact on society or social institutions |
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Crowds & masses can eventually lead to the development of new
social institutions & are thus a force for social change &
integration in society |
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Blumer suggested four types of crowds: the casual crowd, the
conventional crowd, the acting crowd, & the expressive crowd |
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Casual crowds are largely unformed, may experience milling, & are
not acting or expressive |
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Conventional crowds are those that are recognizable as a crowd in that
they well formed, have high levels of milling, are self conscious to a
large extent, but as yet have not acted out any behavior or expressed any
emotions, e.g. anger, fear, or joy |
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In a sense, conventional crowds are still pondering their options |
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Acting crowds are those that are clearing performing actions which
typically include marching, chanting, rioting, etc. |
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Expressive crowds are special types of acting crowds that do not have
any specific action related goal other that expressing an emotion, usually
anger, fear, or joy |
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SOCIAL PROBLEMS & COL BEH |
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Questioning the normative order, that is, a real or perceived conflict,
ambiguity, or change in the normative order is an important condition for
the emergence of col beh |
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But social scientists view the ambiguity in the normative order as
having different roles in col beh |
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Neil Smelser views structural strain as the ambiguities, deprivations,
conflicts, & discrepancies as an important components of social action |
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Norms & values are the most general guides for social behavior |
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Conflict theorists see this same phenomena, i.e. structural strain,
as contradictions inherent in capitalist relations |
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Feminists see structural strain as inherent in patriarchal gender relations |
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Smelser, conflict theorist, feminists, & other social scientists
see structural strain, esp as manifest in social problems, as the context
which fosters col beh |
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Blumer generally does not recognize the link btwn structural strain,
soc probs & col beh, seeing social problems as just that & not
as undeveloped col beh |
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Probably based on his sym int, micro level approach, Blumer denies
that social problems have any “objective” reality; relationships become
social problems when they are recognized & labeled as such |
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For Blumer, the sociological account (i.e., objective) of a soc prob
stands far outside of the col beh interplay, & indeed, may be inconsequential
to it |
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Empirical evident for the linkage btwn struc strain, soc probs, &
col behavior is mixed, but largely goes against Blumer & for Smelser
in that while, on the one hand, some soc probs do languish for yrs w/ no
col beh, on the other hand the West has experienced a veritable explosion
of col beh, esp in the form of soc mvmts |
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PUBLICS |
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Almost all publics & other forms of col beh borrow their org structure
from patterns already present in society |
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Blumer notes that most individual movements in an era draw their inspiration
from one or more general movements, whose world view they share |
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Public opinion, or various publics' opinion, gets its form from the
social framework in which it moves, & from the social processes in
play in that framework |
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The function & role of publics' opinions are determined by the
part they plays in the operation of the society |
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Agitation of the publics is done by those motivated by aroused feelings,
usually discontent, & beliefs that a public could change something |
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Blumer recognizes that agitators function in different ways in that
some, like PETA, use expressive, outrageous activities to gain attn, while
little old ladies may chat up the bridge club |
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Some agitators have no sense of the issue, they conceal their purpose,
work through indirection, call attention to a faint senses of discontent |
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Other agitators are well informed on the issue, are transparent about
their purpose, work through direct action, & call attn to publics'
sense that action is honorable |
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Agitators nearly always must maintain the appearance of membership
in the ingroup if they are to be effective |
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