Intro
Preface
Praise for Collective Behavior and Public Opinion
Contents
About the Author
Introduction: A New Vision
Climate Change and New Pandemics
Mass Psychology and Collective Behavior Sociology
Part I: Mind Quakes
1: Public Opinion as a Complex Adaptive System (CAS)
1 Case # One: A Scandi Icon and the 'Greta' Effect
2 The Phenomenon of Public Opinion
Public Opinion and Opinion Polls
The Rise and Fall of Issues
Emotional Coloring of Issues
3 The Meta-principle of Complex Mutation
Newton's Apple and Lorenz's Butterfly

The Holy Faith in CAS
Regularity and Uncertainty
2: The Continuous Mutation of Informal Messages
1 Case # Two: Covid Rumors in Belgium and Elsewhere
2 The Phenomenon of Hearsay
Gossip and Rumor
Folklore and Legends
Worldview and Group Formation
3 The Meta-principle of Continuous Mutation
Transmission
Diffusion
Contagion
Mutation
A New Notion: Memes
3: Circular Reaction in Media Hypes
1 Case # Three: Hollywood Takes on Melting Ice and Rising Water
2 The Phenomenon of Media Hypes
The Creation of the World in the News

The Evolution of Media Hypes
Media Hypes and the Status Quo
3 The Meta-Principle of Circular Reaction
Self-Reinforcing Processes
Self-Fulfilling Prophecies
Cybernetics and Feedback
Amplification and Circular Reaction
Part II: Emerging Collective Behavior
4: The Formation of Synergy in Crowds
1 Case # Four: The Curfew Riots in the Netherlands
2 The Phenomenon of Psychological Crowds
The Psychology of Crowds and Masses
Deindividuation Theory
The Convergence Approach
3 The Meta-Principle of Synergy Formation
Movement and Convergence

Fluctuation and Synchronization
Rhythm and Resonance
Synergy and Boosting
5: The Emergence of Patterns in Opinion Currents
1 Case # Five: Cambridge Analytica and the Surge in Anglo-american Isolationism
2 The Phenomenon of Opinion Currents
The Sociology of Collective Behavior
The "Natural History" of Opinion Currents
Early Systems Theory
3 The Meta-principle of Emerging Patterns
A Digression on Emerging Patterns in Nature
Emergent Patterns in the Human Psyche
Emergent Patterns in Social Exchange
6: The Self-Organization of Social Movements

1 Case # Six: XR: A British Social Movement
The XR Scientists' EPE Report
2 The Phenomenon of Social Movements
Social Movements as Emergent Self-Organization
Role Differentiation and Self-Organization
Emerging Self-Organization and Established Organization
3 The Meta-Principle of Self-Organization
A Digression on the Self-Organization of Organisms
The Self-Organization of Groups of Organisms
The Self-Organization of Groups of People
Part III: Shifting Public Moods
7: The Evolving Context of Fashion and Fads
1 Case # Seven: From Fur to Fake