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Psychological Theory as Intergroup Perspective: A Comparative Analysis of “Scientific” and “Lay” Accounts of Crowd Events

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The central argument of this paper is that the popular success of crowd psychology is in part due to its correspondence with the perspective of outgroup members. This is supported by a comparative analysis of traditional crowd psychology and lay accounts of crowd events drawn from street disturbances in St. Pauls, Bristol, in 1980. Five basic types of error are identified in crowd psychology past and present. These are: (1) the abstraction of crowd episodes from their intergroup conflicts, (2) the failure to deal with underlying dynamic processes, (3) exaggeration of the anonymity of crowd members, (4) failure to understand the motives of crowd members, and (5) an overwhelming emphasis on the negativity of crowd events. Analysis of accounts of the St. Pauls disturbance reveals the centrality of these forms of error in outgroup members' versions of events. In contrast, crowd members tended to draw upon very different accounts which stress the meaningfulness of crowd action, solidarity, and positive emotional feelings. The implication of these findings for crowd psychology, the study of everyday accounts, and the genesis of ideological explanations is discussed.
... De hecho, fue gracias a Le Bon (1896) que consideramos que las masas son un fenómeno en que las personas pierden su individualidad, su capacidad de raciocinio, extingue, por su fuerza, las capacidades psicológicas normales de los individuos y revela la forma más primitiva del comportamiento. De acuerdo con Reicher & Potter, (1985) fue Le Bon quién relegó a la masa de un realismo al teatro científico social de las curiosidades. ...
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Buku ini merupakan referensi mengenai perilaku massa menurut perspektif Psikologi. Literatur akademis dalam bentuk artikel yang dimuat di jurnal ilmiah atau buku di Indonesia mengenai perilaku massa masih sangat jarang. Padahal, Indonesia sangat kaya dengan fenomena massa, seperti aksi demonstrasi, fanatisme sepak bola, perayaan karnaval, dan ritual-ritual keagamaan. Harus diakui, fenomena dan perilaku massa berbeda dengan fenomena dan perilaku kelompok dan perilaku organisasi yang lebih terstruktur dan memiliki tatanan sosial yang lebih pasti dan jelas. Meskipun demikian, mengacu pada hasil-hasil riset mutakhir di bidang Ilmu Sosial umumnya dan Psikologi khususnya, dampak perilaku massa sama pentingnya dengan dampak perilaku kelompok atau perilaku organisasi terhadap aspek sosial, ekonomi, dan politik masyarakat. Menutupi kesenjangan tersebut, buku referensi ini menelaah sejarah massa, objek studi dan tantangan metodologis Psikologi Massa, jenis-jenis massa, teori-teori serbaneka maupun teori-teori Psikologi, dan rekomendasi intervensi massa dalam se ing konflik, imerjensi, serta pertemuan massa. Sejarah massa membahas histori kemunculan dan dinamika fenomena tersebut. Objek studi massa dalam buku ini menelaah cakupan struktural, ontologis, dan perilaku massa sebagai dasar operasionalisasi defi nisi atau arti massa dalam perspektif Psikologi. Tantangan metodologis menekankan kesulitan-kesulitan yang dihadapi peneliti dan alternatif-alternatif solusinya untuk mempelajari secara ilmiah perilaku massa. Bab mengenai jenis-jenis massa berisi informasi dan analisis mengenai karakteristik, persamaan, dan perbedaan aneka ragam massa. Bab ini diikuti dengan pembahasan mengenai teori-teori massa, mulai dari teori-teori klasik sampai dengan teori-teori mutakhir dalam ranah Psikologi maupun ranah multidisiplin. Bab terakhir menguraikan rekomendasi intervensi untuk menangani konflik massa, perilaku massa dalam imerjensi dan bencana, serta mempromosikan dampakdampak positif massa dalam se ing pertemuan. Kami berharap bahwa buku referensi ini bisa bermanfaat bagi peneliti, dosen, dan mahasiswa untuk memahami dinamika psikologis fenomena dan perilaku massa.
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