Methodology for studying mass behavior

Network analysis methods allow us to study the spread of ideas, beliefs and behavior of individuals. Traditionally developing in line with the sociological tradition, this topic is interdisciplinary in nature, associated with the complex nature of mass behavior. One of the theoretical and methodological areas of the laboratory’s activities is related to the study of mass behavior in social networks.

Stanislav Moiseev’s dissertation work on the topic “The nature and mechanisms of mass behavior: from classical sociology to modern theoretical models” (2020) conceptualizes mass behavior and analyzes the methodological possibilities of its empirical study. The work draws on the interdisciplinary tradition of mass behavior research, contemporary theories of the diffusion of ideas and behavior, as well as developments in the field of modeling these processes and the use of non-reactive/behavioral data (“digital traces”) in social research.

By analyzing the nature, involvement, and implementation of mass behavior, the author presents and explains the specific mechanisms underlying participation in mass behavior. The relevance of studying these aspects is due to the presence of a large number of examples of the spread of specific behavior patterns among audiences of Internet users, social media and social networks. The work provides a large-scale historical and sociological reconstruction of the development of ideas about mass behavior – it provides an overview of scientific research, key historical and artistic works that became the basis for the formation of the first ideas about mass behavior. The conceptualization of mass behavior presented in the work takes into account the tradition of research on mass behavior, as well as modern developments in the field of the theory of affective contagion. Next, a transition is made from the level of theoretical conceptualization to a specific methodology for studying mass behavior, which takes into account the wide potential of modern research methods – the collection and analysis of “digital traces” and computer modeling used to analyze the spread of behavior. The methodological possibilities of studying new forms of mass behavior in the digital era are illustrated by empirical research.

The work may be useful to researchers interested in the theory of mass behavior, as well as in using the proposed methodology when implementing applied research in various fields of social sciences – sociology, political science, social psychology, media studies.

Publications:

• Moiseev S. “Rehabilitation” of the concept “mass” in social sciences: search for a general definition // Sociology: methodology, methods, mathematical modeling. 2016. No. 42. P. 61-83.
• Moiseev S. The concepts of “mass” and “mass behavior” in the works of B. Grushin // Monitoring of public opinion: Economic and social changes. 2017. No. 2. P. 233-245. 
  
• Devyatko I. Moiseev S. Viral altruism or social contagion? Comparative analysis of types of participation and mechanisms of involvement of Russian and Ukrainian social media users in the Ice Bucket Challenge charity campaign // Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology. 2018. T. 21. No. 4. P. 154-181.
• Summary of the dissertation for the academic degree of candidate of sociological sciences Moiseev S. on the topic: “The nature and mechanisms of mass behavior: from classical sociology to modern theoretical models” (2020).