Psychology Atlas

How The Mind Works
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme

Switch Atlas

Psychological Phenomena

Social Contagion

Social Biases and Group Effects

Social contagion is the spontaneous spread of behavior, emotion or a condition through a group or network, distinct from deliberate attempts at social influence or persuasion. Social scientists have discussed the phenomenon since the late nineteenth century, though early work on it often suffered from unclear or inconsistent definitions of what counted as contagion.

Facts
Core Claim
behaviour, emotions, or conditions spreading spontaneously through a group or network 1
First Described Year
1895 2
The term "behavioural contagion" was first introduced into modern scholarship by Gustave Le Bon in his 1895 book The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind. (w-bbfill-psychology6-0926)
Classification
Type of Phenomenon
Cognitive Phenomenon 1
Type of Phenomenon
Social or Interpersonal Phenomenon 1
Connections

In Branch

Evolutionary Psychology, Branches of Psychology
Source Social contagion - Wikipedia
Social Psychology, Branches of Psychology
Source Social contagion - Wikipedia
Sources
1. Social contagion - Wikipedia
  • Intro, sentence 1
    behaviour, emotions, or conditions spreading spontaneously through a group or network
  • lead section, phenomenon-kind classification
    Much recent work involves academics from social psychology, sociology, and network science investigating online social networks.
  • lead section, phenomenon-kind classification, additional value cognitive
    Studies in the 20th century typically focused on negative effects such as violent mob behaviour, whereas those of the 21st century, while sometimes looking at harmful effects, have often focused on relatively neutral or positive effects like the tendency for people to take action on climate change once a sufficient number of their neighbours do.
  • In Branch: Evolutionary Psychology, Categories
    Wikipedia article 'Social contagion' is filed under Category:Evolutionary psychology.
  • In Branch: Social Psychology, Categories
    Wikipedia article 'Social contagion' is filed under Category:Social psychology.
View the Source
2. Wikipedia: Social contagion
Wikipedia article text
Quote, Wikipedia article text
The term "behavioural contagion" was first introduced into modern scholarship by Gustave Le Bon in his 1895 book The Crowd: A Study of the Popular Mind.
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.