The Myth of the Madding Crowd

296 Pages·2017·20.754 MB·English

by  Clark McPhail

THE MYTH OF
THE MADDING CROWD
SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND SOCIAL CHANGE
An Aldine de Gruyter Series of Texts and Monographs
EDITE D BY
James D. Wright
Legal Construct, Social Concept: A Macrosociological Perspective on Law
Larry Barnett,
The Changing Contract Across
Vern L. Bengtson and W. Andrew Achenbaum,
Generations
Punishment and Social Control: Es­
Thomas G. Blomberg and Stanley Cohen (eds.),
says in Honor of Sheldon L. Messinger
Death, Deeds, and Descendants: Inheritance in Modern America
Remi Clignet,
Adolescent Stress: Causes and Consequences
Mary Ellen Colten and Susan Gore (eds.),
Families in Troubled Times: Adapting to
Rand D. Conger and Glen H. Elder, Jr.,
Change in Rural America
The Greatest of Evils: Urban Poverty and the
Joel A. Devine and James D. Wright,
American Underclass
The Power Elite and the State: How Policy is Made in America
G. William Domhoff,
State Autonomy or Class Dominance? Case Studies on Policy
G. William Domhoff,
Making in America
Comparable Worth: Theories and Evidence
Paula S. England,
Theory on Gender/Feminism on Theory
Paula S. England,
Human Capital or Cultural Capital? Ethnicity and Poverty Groups in
George Farkas,
an Urban School District
Corporate Welfare Policy and the Welfare
Davita Silfen Glasberg and Dan Skidmore,
State: Bank Deregulation and the Savings and Loan Bailout
. The North American Trajectory:
Ronald F Inglehart, Neil Nevitte, Miguel Basañez,
Cultural, Economic, and Political Ties among the United States, Canada, and
Mexico
Point Blank: Guns and Violence in America
Gary Kleck,
Targeting Guns: Firearms and Their Control
Gary Kleck, (paperback)
Social Justice and
James R. Kluegel, David S. Mason, and Bernd Wegener (eds.),
Political Change: Public Opinion in Capitalist and Post-Communist States
The Politics of Medicare
Theodore R. Marmor, (Second Edition)
The Disposable Work Force: Worker Displacement and Employ­
Thomas S. Moore,
ment Instability in America
The Myth of the Madding Crowd
Clark McPhail,
The Costs of Privacy: Surveillance and Reputation in America
Steven L. Nock,
Talcott Parsons on National Socialism (
Edited and with an Introduction by Uta Gerhardt)
The Satanism Scare
James T. Richardson, Joel Best, and David G. Bromley (eds.),
Just Punishments: Federal Guidelines and Public
Peter H. Rossi and Richard A. Berk,
Views Compared
Of Human Bonding: Parent-Child Relations Across the
Alice S. Rossi and Peter H. Rossi,
Life Course
In the Line of Fire: Youth, Guns, and Violence in
Joseph F. Sheley and James D. Wright:
Urban America
Paying for Medicare: The Politics of Reform
David G. Smith,
Address Unknown: The Homeless in America
James D. Wright,
Armed and Considered Dangerous: A Survey of
James D. Wright and Peter H. Rossi,
Felons and Their Firearms, (Expanded Edition)
nder the Gun: Weapons, Crime,
James D. Wright, Peter H. Rossi, and Kathleen Daly, U
and Violence in America
Banking on Fraud: Drexel, Junk Bonds, and Buyouts
Mary Zey,
THE MYTH OF
THE MADDING CROWD
Clark McPhail
Routledge
Taylor & Fra ncis Group
LONDON AND NEW YORK
About the Author
Clark McPhail is Associate Professor of Sociology, University of Illinois at
Urbana-Champaign. His studies on social psychology, on individual and
collective actions in prosaic, religious, sport, and political gatherings, and his
work on the peer review of and editorial decision on scholarly manuscripts
have been widely published.
First published 1991 by Transaction Publishers
Published 2017 by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017, USA
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor Sc Francis Group, an informa business
Copyright © 1991 by Taylor & Francis.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or
utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now
known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from
the publishers.
Notice:
Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and
are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McPhail, Clark, 1936-
The myth of the madding crowd/Clark McPhail.
p.cm. — (Social institutions and social change)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-202-30424-8 (cloth). — ISBN 0-202-30375-6 (pbk.)
1. Collective behavior. 2. Crowds. I. Title. II. Series.
HM281.M39 1991
302.3'3—dc20 90-42787
CIP
ISBN 13: 978-0-202-30375-8 (pbk)
to Robert L. Stewart
mentor! colleague! critic!

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Foreword by John D. McCarthy xi
Prologue xix
1. Creating the Myth: LeBon; Park; Blumer 1
Introduction 1
Gustave LeBon (1841-1931) 2
Robert Ezra Park (1864-1944) 5
Herbert George Blumer (1900-1987) 9
The Transformation Hypothesis: An Assessment 13
Notes 20
2. Perpetuating the Myth: Allport; Miller and Dollard 25
Introduction 25
Floyd H. Allport (1890-1978) 26
Neil E. Miller (b. 1909) and John Dollard (1900-1981) 31
The Predisposition Hypothesis: An Assessment 43
Discussion 54
Notes 56
3. Challenging the Myth: Sherif; Turner and Killian 61
Introduction 61
Muzafer Sherif (1905-1988) 62
Ralph H. Turner (b. 1919) and Lewis Killian (b. 1919) 70
The Emergent Norm Hypothesis: An Assessment 89
Notes 103
vii
viii Contents
4. Moving Beyond the Myth: Couch; Berk; Tilly;
and Lofland 109
Introduction 109
Carl J. Couch (b. 1925) 110
Richard A. Berk (b. 1942) 121
Charles Tilly (b. 1929) 126
John Lofland (b. 1936) 135
Moving Ahead 143
Notes 144
5. What Phenomena Are to be Explained? 149
Introduction 149
Sociological Birthright of Collective Behavior 150
The Life Cycle of Temporary Gatherings 152
Extant Definitions of Collective Behavior 154
Working Definition of Collective Behavior 158
The Crowd and Collective Behavior: A Recharacterization 162
Collective Behavior within Gatherings 163
Other Levels and Units of Analysis 174
Summary and Discussion 184
Notes 186
6. Elements of an Explanation 191
Introduction 191
George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) 192
William T. Powers (b. 1925) 198
A Sociocybernetic Theory of Social Behavior 206
Summary and Discussion 220
Notes 222
Epilogue 225
References 233
Author Index 253
Subject Index 257
Acknowledgments
I am grateful to the professors who introduced me to sociology (Charles J.
Browning and Jack Dodson), to social psychology (Muzafer Sherif, Frederick
Waisanen, Robert L. Stewart, and Arch Haller), to field work (Norman
Jackman and John Useem), and to the study of collective behavior (Norman
Jackman and Carl Couch).
I particularly thank Robert L. Stewart, with whom Charles Tucker and I
began discussing assembling processes, violent and nonviolent collective
action within gatherings, and dispersing processes following the 1968 Or­
angeburg Massacre.
I thank those colleagues who joined me in the early fieldwork in Or­
angeburg and Columbia (Bob Stewart and Charles Tucker), later in Charleston
and Atlanta (Tom Burns, Edith Cobb, David Miller, Bob Pickens, Dick Smith,
Bill Westbrook, and David Wyatt), and subsequently in Chicago and Urbana-
Champaign (David Miller, Bob Pickens, Ernest Rigney, Dick Smith, and Ron
Wohlstein).
I thank those doctoral students (David Miller, Dick Smith, Bob Pickens,
Ernest Rigney and Ron Wohlstein) with and from whom I learned a great
deal about human beings acting together.
Special thanks to John McCarthy and Ann McPhail for assistance and
support during the fieldwork and archival data collection in Washington,
DC.
The contributions of my companion and closest friend Ann McPhail are
too longstanding and numerous to detail. But it is with enormous gratitude
that I acknowledge her patience, constructive criticisms, and encourage­
ment, all so essential to the continuation of this project, indeed to life itself.
I thank those colleagues who have read and commented on one or more
unpublished papers, a few published papers, and undoubtedly too few drafts
of the chapters that compose this book: Benigno Aguirre; Von Bakanic;
Harvey Choldin; Carl Couch; William Feinberg; Peter Hall; Norris Johnson;
Jerry Lewis; John Lofland; Lyn Lofland; Gary Marx; George McCall; Jim
McKee; John McCarthy; Dan E. Miller; David L. Miller; David Snow;
ix