Simulating Individual and Collective Action in Temporary Gatherings

Abstract

Perception control systems and hierarchies of such systems are described. Perception control system theory asserts that human beings adjust their actions to control their perceptions. Purposive individuals adjust their actions to counter variable circumstances that prevent their perceptions from matching their objectives. Collective action can occur when two or more purposive individuals generate similar objectives independently, or when they do so interdependently, or when they adopt them from a third party. This explanation addresses the most characteristic feature of human behavior in temporary gatherings (crowds): alternating and vaned sequences of individual and collective action. A simulation program is described that varies up to three separate sets of control systems (seeking a destination, avoiding collisions, and seeking the path of other individuals) for each of 1 to 255 individuals constituting a gathering. The program features are illustrated with successive panels of screen prints of the development of nine different sequences of individual and collective action observed repeatedly in field research on temporary gathenngs. Theoretical, research, and practical implications are noted. An appendix descnbes program parameters. Keywords: perception, cybernetic, control systems theory, crowds, gatherings, individual action, collective action, simulation.