GRE阅读话题功能段落之“个体与群体”

1. 收敛理论---Convergence theory 　　Convergence theory holds that crowd behavior is not a product ofthe crowd itself, but is carried into the crowd by particularindividuals. Thus, crowds amount to a convergence of like-mindedindividuals. In other words, while contagion theory states that crowdscause people to act in a certain way, convergence theory says theopposite: that people who wish to act in a certain way come together toform crowds. An example of convergence theory states that there is nohomogeneous activity within a repetitive practice, sometimes observedwhen an immigrant population becomes common in a previously homogeneousarea, and members of the existing community (apparently spontaneously)band together to threaten those trying to move into theirneighborhoods. In such cases, convergence theorists contend, the crowditself does not generate racial hatred or violence; rather, thehostility has been simmering for some time among many local people. Acrowd then arises from convergence of people who oppose the presence ofthese neighbors. Convergence theory claims that crowd behavior as suchis not irrational; rather, people in crowds express existing beliefsand values so that the mob reaction is the rational product ofwidespread popular feeling.
　　2. 群体心理学的概念
　　Crowd psychology is a branch of social psychology. Ordinary peoplecan typically gain direct power by acting collectively. Historically,because large groups of people have been able to affect dramatic andsudden social change in a manner that bypasses established due process,they have also provoked controversy. Social scientists have developedseveral different theories for explaining crowd psychology, and theways in which the psychology of the crowd differs significantly fromthe psychology of those individuals within it. Carl Jung coined thenotion of the Collective unconscious.