Intergroup Relations and Crowd Behavior

Factors Influencing Crowd Behavior

• Factors that influence our behavior in crowds include anonymity, group size, and shared emotions.
• Le Bon's 3 characteristics of crowd behavior are anonymity, contagion, and suggestibility.
• Deindividuation is the loss of self-awareness and individuality when in a group.

Role and Accountability

• Zimbardo's Stanford Prison Experiment demonstrated that roles can lead to a loss of accountability, and individuals can become violent and aggressive when given power.

Social Identity Theory

• Social Identity Theory suggests that in-group favoritism and out-group derogation are promoted by enhancing one's self-esteem through group membership.
• Threats to self-esteem can lead to increased in-group favoritism and out-group derogation.

Group Size and Loyalty

• The relationship between group size and loyalty is that smaller groups tend to be more loyal.

Group Behavior and Conflict

• The Realistic Conflict Theory explains that conflict between different groups results from individuals' self-interest motives in competition for resources.
• The term for the perception where each group sees its own behavior as caused by the actions of the other side is the "fundamental attribution error".

Conflict Resolution Strategies

• The "Gradual Reduction in Tensions" strategy involves unilateral and persistent efforts to establish trust and cooperation between groups.
• "Superordinate goals" are goals that can be achieved only if members of both groups cooperate.
• The "Direct Negotiation" strategy involves seeking an agreement through direct negotiation between both groups.

Acculturation

• "Relative deprivation" is the feeling of being deprived as a result of comparing the status of one's group with that of another group.
• The necessary conditions for relative deprivation to occur are that individuals must be aware of the gap between their group's status and that of another group, and they must feel that their group deserves better.
• "Ethnocentrism" is the tendency to believe one's ethnic or cultural group is preferable and that all others should be evaluated in relation to one's ethnicity.
• In a "monochromatic" society, group members are seen as homogenous and a strong distinction between ingroups and outgroups exists.
• "Acculturation" is the term for the behavioral and psychological changes that happen when groups of individuals having different cultures come into continuous first-hand contact.
• The "Integration" strategy involves maintaining one's own culture while participating in the larger society.
• In collectivistic societies, negotiating is seen as a way to maintain group harmony and relationships.
• The "Linear Process Model" of acculturation suggests that individuals progress through a series of stages, from contact to assimilation.
• The "Cultural Pluralism Model" of acculturation proposes that individuals can maintain their cultural identity while still participating in the larger society.
• The larger society demands adaptation from the acculturating group.
• The "Integration" strategy is considered the best for acculturation.

Explore the different theories explaining intergroup relations and the factors influencing behaviors in crowds. Learn about early research and theories of crowd behavior including Le Bon's characteristics of crowd behavior.