Emergent Norm Theory

Abstract

Emergent norm theory hypothesizes that nontraditional behavior (such as that associated with collective action) develops in crowds as a result of the emergence of new behavioral norms in response to a precipitating crisis. For proponents of emergent norm theory, collective action includes all types of social behavior in which the conventional norms stop functioning as guides to social action and instead people collectively overturn or go beyond the normal institutional practices and frameworks of society (Turner & Killian 1987), and therefore new conventions must form as part of the collective action. The basic suppositions of emergent norm theory are that collective action is rational, that collective action is a response to an ambiguous precipitating event, and that new norms of behavior appropriate to the collective action situation emerge through group processes without prior coordination and planning. Originally proposed by Turner and Killian (1972), emergent norm theory has grown out of two main traditions. First, the Le Bonian tradition of thinking of crowds as normless entities and collective action as irrational behavior led Turner and Killian to think about how norms are instituted in crowds. Second, symbolic interactionist perspectives and small-group analysis contributed a model of norms as developing through interaction.