COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOR
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 494 ▶ |
| Object type | Human sciences |
A similar and simultaneous behavior in a numerous group of individuals of a same species.
Collective behavior can be observed in all societies, from amoebas to human groups. Coordination of moves or other activities results from some specific factor as for example pheromones , or reciprocal visual perception (in fish shoals , for example), or gestual or spoken language .
Normally collective behavior is reinforced by repetitive action that works as a positive feedback . This can even lead to exponential or massive effects (swarming, communal building, in insects…and people, panics, etc)
Curiously, in some cases some unfavorable factor, a negative feedback can lead to the reduction, or even the suppression of some behavior . C. Defrain and J.K. Deneubourg give the example of ants trails abandonned when a source of food is nearly exhausted or if some obstacle or danger intervenes. (2000, p. 147)