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Like Water and Vapor--Conformity and Independence in the Large Group

Tarnow, Dr. Eugen (1996) Like Water and Vapor--Conformity and Independence in the Large Group. [Journal (Paginated)]

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Abstract

Conformity and independence in the large group may, in part, be due to collective phenomena analogous to those producing different physical phases like solid, liquid and vapor. This phase model of the large group explains several previous anecdotal observations: It predicts a suddenness in the decision making, it explains the apparent contradiction between crowd suggestibility on the one hand and the difficulty of controlling a crowd on the other hand, and it provides a new rationalization for the phenomenon of splitting. The model is of use to both leaders and members of the large group. For example, it suggests what social parameters to change to disperse a violent crowd, and why crowd crystals, a concept examined by the writer Canetti, can suddenly make the large group conform.

Item Type:Journal (Paginated)
Keywords:Collective phenomena, large group, crowd, conformity, group think
Subjects:Psychology > Social Psychology
ID Code:4274
Deposited By:Tarnow, Dr. Eugen
Deposited On:24 Apr 2005
Last Modified:12 Sep 2007 17:57

References in Article

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