to a section of a metropolitan area. Second, a concern of the
majority of the crowd (many participants do not always share the
concern) is a collaborative goal rather than parallel individual goals.
The “june bug obsession” cited earlier, in which dozens of women
went home from work because of imaginary insect bites, could have
turned into a crowd action if the women had banded together to
demand a change in working conditions or to conduct a ceremony
to exorcise the evil. Third, because the goal is collaborative, there is
more division of labour and cooperative activity in a crowd than in
collective obsessions. Finally, a major concern of a crowd is with
some improvement or social change expected as a result of its
activity. Labour rioters expect management to be more compliant
after the riot; participants in a massive religious revival expect life in
the community to be somehow better as a result.
The crucial step in developing crowd behaviour is the formation of a
common mood directed toward a recognized object of attention. In
a typical riot situation a routine police arrest or a fistfight between
individuals from opposing groups focuses attention. Milling and
rumour then establish a mood of indignation and hostility toward an
identified enemy or enemies. In a collective religious experience
there is usually an amazing event that rivets attention. Through
elementary collective behaviour the mood is defined as religious awe
and gratitude toward the supernatural and its agents.
As the mood and object become established, either an “active”
crowd or an “expressive” crowd is formed. The active crowd is
usually aggressive, such as a violent mob, though occasionally it acts
to propel members into heroic accomplishments. The expressive
crowd has also been called the dancing crowd because its
manifestations are dancing, singing, and other forms of emotional
expression.