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Collective Behavior, Defined

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Collective behavior is noninstitutionalized group activity that several or many people engage in voluntarily, outside any formal institution's direction.

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Commuters walking home and teenagers adopting the same hairstyle both count as collective behavior, though neither is institutionally coordinated.

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Collective behavior is voluntary and noninstitutionalized; behavior organized by a formal institution, like a scheduled parade permit, falls outside the term.