This book introduces principles of Chaos theory (and Complex Adaptive Systems) to social science, in a lively and elegant way. It applies it to the twin disciplines of mass psychology (under social psychology, mostly in Europe) and collective behavior sociology (mostly in North America) that deal with emergent psychosocial phenomena that lie outside conventional approaches. Each of the eleven chapters begins with a topical ‘case study’ section, on an issue related to climate change and collective behaviour, such as the ‘school strike’ by Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg, the Hollywood movie The Day After Tomorrow, and more. This book aims to show that there are fundamental reasons why many phenomena cannot be easily ‘measured, predicted and controlled’, and thus we need to familiarize ourselves with alternative ways of thinking about them.
Author(s): Jaap van Ginneken
Series: Frontiers of Globalization
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Year: 2022
Language: English
Pages: 351
City: Cham
Preface
Praise for Collective Behavior and Public Opinion
Contents
About the Author
Introduction: A New Vision
Climate Change and New Pandemics
Mass Psychology and Collective Behavior Sociology
Part I: Mind Quakes
1: Public Opinion as a Complex Adaptive System (CAS)
1 Case # One: A Scandi Icon and the ‘Greta’ Effect
2 The Phenomenon of Public Opinion
Public Opinion and Opinion Polls
The Rise and Fall of Issues
Emotional Coloring of Issues
3 The Meta-principle of Complex Mutation
Newton’s Apple and Lorenz’s Butterfly
The Holy Faith in CAS
Regularity and Uncertainty
2: The Continuous Mutation of Informal Messages
1 Case # Two: Covid Rumors in Belgium and Elsewhere
2 The Phenomenon of Hearsay
Gossip and Rumor
Folklore and Legends
Worldview and Group Formation
3 The Meta-principle of Continuous Mutation
Transmission
Diffusion
Contagion
Mutation
A New Notion: Memes
3: Circular Reaction in Media Hypes
1 Case # Three: Hollywood Takes on Melting Ice and Rising Water
2 The Phenomenon of Media Hypes
The Creation of the World in the News
The Evolution of Media Hypes
Media Hypes and the Status Quo
3 The Meta-Principle of Circular Reaction
Self-Reinforcing Processes
Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
Cybernetics and Feedback
Amplification and Circular Reaction
Part II: Emerging Collective Behavior
4: The Formation of Synergy in Crowds
1 Case # Four: The Curfew Riots in the Netherlands
2 The Phenomenon of Psychological Crowds
The Psychology of Crowds and Masses
Deindividuation Theory
The Convergence Approach
3 The Meta-Principle of Synergy Formation
Movement and Convergence
Fluctuation and Synchronization
Rhythm and Resonance
Synergy and Boosting
5: The Emergence of Patterns in Opinion Currents
1 Case # Five: Cambridge Analytica and the Surge in Anglo-american Isolationism
2 The Phenomenon of Opinion Currents
The Sociology of Collective Behavior
The “Natural History” of Opinion Currents
Early Systems Theory
3 The Meta-principle of Emerging Patterns
A Digression on Emerging Patterns in Nature
Emergent Patterns in the Human Psyche
Emergent Patterns in Social Exchange
6: The Self-Organization of Social Movements
1 Case # Six: XR: A British Social Movement
The XR Scientists’ EPE Report
2 The Phenomenon of Social Movements
Social Movements as Emergent Self-Organization
Role Differentiation and Self-Organization
Emerging Self-Organization and Established Organization
3 The Meta-Principle of Self-Organization
A Digression on the Self-Organization of Organisms
The Self-Organization of Groups of Organisms
The Self-Organization of Groups of People
Part III: Shifting Public Moods
7: The Evolving Context of Fashion and Fads
1 Case # Seven: From Fur to Fake
2 The Phenomenon of Fashion and Fads
Fashion: The Joys of Expressing Oneself
Fads, Manias, Crazes: The Joy of New Impressions
3 The Meta-principle of Evolving Contexts
Nested Contexts
An Excursion on Irreversible Time
Regimes of Experience
8: Critical Thresholds in Fear and Panic
1 Case # Eight: The Fear of Contagion from the East
2 The Phenomenon Of Fear And Panic
Panic After Disasters
Panic After Phony Disasters
Product Risks and Risk Perceptions
Distortions and Shifts
3 The Meta-Principle Of Critical Thresholds
An Excursion About Dominoes and Thresholds
The Sandpile Model
Contiguity and Critical Mass
9: Possible Attractors, in Outrage and Protest
1 Case # Nine: The French Popular Protests Against the Elite Environment (The ‘Yellow Vests’)
2 The Phenomenon of Outrage and Protest
Collective Expression of Hostility
Moral Panic
Political Scandal
Economic Boycott
Shifts
3 The Meta-Principle of Possible Attractors
An Excursion into Abstract Space
Psychosocial Attractors
Part IV: Conclusions
10: Phase Transitions in Crazes and Crashes
1 Case # Ten: Bulls and Bears on Stock Exchanges
2 The Phenomenon of Crazes and Crashes
Greedy Masses
Speculative Bubbles and Bursts
Value Paper, Bears and Bulls
Shifts and Gestalt Switches
3 The Meta-principle of Phase Transitions
A Digression on Phases, Transitions, and Hypnons
The Congestion Phase and the Braess Paradox
Back to Animal Behavior and Swarms
Mass and Collective Behavior as a Phase Transition
11: Prediction, Planning, and Fundamental Uncertainty
1 Case # Eleven: Nuclear Plants as a Supposed Panacea (Fukushima)
2 The Phenomenon of Forecasting
Back to Yesterday’s Technological Future
Back to Yesterday’s Economic Future
Back to Yesterday’s Social Future
Yesterday’s Predictions and Unpredictability
3 The Ultimate Meta-principle: Fundamental Uncertainty
Infinite Detail, Fractals, and Immeasurability
Unstable Equilibrium, Bifurcations, and Unpredictability
Chance, Contingency, and Uncontrollability
12: Summary: Issues Management?
References
Author Index
Subject Index
