Theories of Collective Emotion

Theories of collective emotion explore how groups of people experience and share emotional responses simultaneously. They suggest that emotions can spread through social interactions, cultural norms, or shared experiences, creating a collective feeling. For example, sports fans cheering together or crowds mourning after a tragedy illustrate this. These theories consider factors like social influence, group identity, and collective rituals that help emotions become shared and amplified within groups, shaping social cohesion and collective behavior. Essentially, they explain how individual feelings can become part of a larger, shared emotional experience.