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Collective behaviour is regulated by norms based on distinctive behaviour that emerge from an initially normless crowd.

Developed by Turner and Killian. Rather than viewing crowds as entities governed by randomness and primal "ancestral savagery" (Le Bon), Turner and Killian see crowds as rational and norm-governed.

When a crowd coalesces, there is no norm governing the behaviour of the crowd. There is normally no leader or centralised control. The attention of the crowd is drawn towards those that act in a distinctive manner. This distinctive behaviour is taken as the norm, and slowly a norm that governs behaviour emerges. As time passes, the norm becomes entrenched and there is pressure against non-conformity. Inaction on the part of the crowd is interpreted as being a sign of acceptance of the new norm.

Emergent norm theory thus takes into account the fact that crowds communicate and that behaviour in a crowd can be unpredictable.

Criticisms of Emergent Norm Theory

Reicher argues that groups do not coalesce in a normless environment. When groups come together, there is no need for a norm to emerge because groups already bring with them a set of norms. The norm for a group of rock fans coming to watch 50 Cent would be different to a Countryside Alliance march.

Diener argues that a norm-regulated crowd would have to be a self-aware crowd. The fact is that individuals in crowds are not self-aware - they are deindividuated - and thus not necessarily norm-governed.

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