GROUP DISPLAY AS AN ADAPTIVE RESPONSE
EXPLANATIONS OF GROUP DISPLAY
Convergence theory and emergent norm theory.
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Theory suggests motive behind group behaviour is convergence upon a specific location by
like-minded individuals with similar points of view e.g. football crowd. Turner and Killian
developed idea and proposed emergent norm theory. Argued crowd behaviour as such id
‘normless’. Individual has no norm to follow, so they look to see what other people are doing
and base their behaviour on that. If one person’s behaviour is distinctive and stands out the
person will get the attention of the crowd. This distinctive behaviour is gradually taken on as
the norm. This view dictates crowds are not a passive group and can help explain why crowd
behaviour can at times be unpredictable.
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Convergence theory focuses more on how individuals are rational and how, as like minded
people come together the formation of the crowd and their behaviour can be seen as rational
and logical, other theories are more concerned with irrational forces.
Emergent norm theory has been criticised for not explaining exactly how norms might
emerge, and not all crowd behaviour can be explained by this theory. It doesn’t take into
account non-verbal processes which occur in crowds.
Berk – Crowd events occur with great speed, are difficult to participate, often happen several
at a time, may cover a broad geographic area, are not conducive to interviewing members,
frequently produce unreliable unremembered accounts and create a risk of injury to the
observer.
Lynch mobs.
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Towards the end of 19th century in USA it became an institutionalised method used by whites
to terrorise blacks and maintain supremacy (see top p 72)
Myrdal – fundamental cause was fear of the negro. They used ‘lynch law’ as a means of social
control. Of the 4742 documented lynchings nearly ¾of victims were black. There were more
lynchings in this period of time as it was a time of major social transition – collapse of slavery
– and the white community felt at risk. When groups feel at risk, survival is more important.
Co-operative group defence and antagonism to outsiders goes hand in hand. Myths e.g. of
Negroes uncontrollable desire to rape white women frequently used as a defence.
Power threat hypothesis – Blalock – groups that pose a threat to the majority are more likely
to be discriminated against. Lynching was an extreme form of discrimination, motivated by
perceived racial threat.
Zimbardo – dehumanisation is crucial to understanding this i.e. it is not seen as a crime
against humanity.
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Adaptive as increases status and dominance, access to resources, chances of survival and
opportunities for reproductive success.
Boyd and Richarson support – discovered groups in which cooperation thrived also flourished
– explains why when majority group at risk as a consequence of social change, individual self
interest gives way to ‘groupishness’. E.g. white people status over black people
Power threat hypothesis – nature of threat vague and poorly defined so difficult to test. In
study Clark – lynchings in Brazil concluded evidence contradicted claim that threat of
‘dangerous classes’ was major causal factor e.g. in Sao Paulo % of Afro Brazilians in
community negatively correlated with number of lynch mob violence.
Muller – the larger the lynch mob – mere deindividuated – increase in level of atrocities.
SPORT
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Tribal warfare has been replaced by sporting events e.g. the New Zealand All Black rugby
team does the ‘Haka’ before a game which was originally performed by Maori warriors going
into battle.
Wilson – xenophobia found in nearly every group of animals with higher forms of social
organisation i.e. natural selection has favoured genes that cause us to be altruistic towards
members of our own group but intolerant to outsiders.
Being suspicious of strangers would have been adaptive – Shaw and Wong. MacDonald – it is
better to exaggerate negative stereotypes about outsiders – over perception of threat better
than under perception.
Football e.g. N.League in Italy an example of xenophobic political organisation. Led to growth
of extreme right wing movement – racist chants, anti- Semitic banners. On terraces banners
openly xenophobic – this strengthened cultural identity as it stressed the differences
between N and S Italians.
Evans and Rowe – 40 football matches played on continent by English club or England
National team. More disorder after national team played – influence of nationalism and
xenophobia (club sides are more ethnically diverse.)
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Foldesi – Hungarian football crowds racist conduct of a core of extremist supporters led to an
increase in spectator violence and xenophobic outbursts. The usual targets being; gypsies,
Jews, Russians
Marsh alternative explanation – behaviour is often highly ordered and ritualised – youth can
achieve sense of personal worth and identity in eyes of peers. Alternative ‘career structure’
Guttman – no single theory appropriate to explain behaviour and violence of sports crowd
Group display and war
From an evolutionary perspective, war is the formation of a coalition to attack others within
the same species. Although there is a risk to individuals it is reduced by aggressive group
display. War allows one group status over another, giving them access to their land, resources
and their women.
Lehmann and Feldman
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Men who are stronger and more aggressive will win wars and survive to pass on their
genes, leading to an increasingly aggressive species.
Two traits have evolved in humans that determine the likelihood of conflict:
1) Belligerence (increases the probability that one group will attack another)
2) Bravery (which increases the chance of winning)
Groups with males high in both qualities are most likely to go to war and win.
Research - Support
Changnon
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Warfare exists among many modern day tribal societies e.g. Yanomamo. They are
obsessed with the size of their villages, as the only advantage one group can have over
another is manpower.
The most frequent cause of conflict is abduction of women to increase their size
Battle can also give a warrior status and increase his chances of attracting females –
successful warriors have more wives and children.
Pinker
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Points out in WWII the Germans invading Eastern Europe carried out systematic rape
and abuse of women
In Bosnia during the Yugoslavian conflict more than 20,000 Muslim women were
raped as part of an organised attempt by Serbs to impregnate women who would
then raise Serbian children and also terrorise others into fleeing their land
Religious rituals - OPTIONAL
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Some aggressive behaviour is self inflicted e.g. initiation rite or religious ritual. E.g. self
flagellation. Why would we do this to ourselves?
Costly signalling theory – Sosis. By engaging in painful rituals an individual signals
commitment to the group and what it stands for and can promote co-operation within the
group.
Zahavi and Zahavi – significant costs of these acts deters anyone who does not believe in the
teachings but wants to take advantage of its benefits. So adaptive benefit is ultimately to
promote and maintain religious cooperation within a group.
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Support – Sosis and Bressler – found religious groups tended to impose twice as many costly
requirements on members than non-religious groups and number was positively correlated
with life span of group. Those requiring the greatest displays of commitment produce most
commited members and so last the longest.
Costly signalling theory suggests it stops imposters, however if pay offs are high may still
attempt to fake membership. Chen found that in times of crisis, religious institutions provide
social insurance – more would put up with costs (e.g. financial contributions) to gain the
benefits.
Benefit is intra-group solidarity but the cost is inter-group conflict. Roes and Raymond found
societies with stricter religious practices tend to have higher levels of inter-group conflict.
Not all crowds are aggressive. Cassidy investigated the Mala – a month long Hindu festival. In
2007 50 million attended over the month – the crowds behaved well and increased
generosity, support and orderly behaviour was noted.