Mass as a socio-psychological issue: scattered state and the phenomenon of concentration

The article deals with reconceptualization of the fundamentals of mass psychol-ogy, which involves ordering of its specific conceptual apparatus and its specifications. The comparison and critical analysis of the present scientific concepts of mass legiti-mize its definition as a more or less stable and numerous (multi-thousand or multi-million) group of individuals that does not have a clear structure but is characterized by a considerable homogeneity of psychological characteristics and behavior of the indi-viduals. It is stated that the concept of mass reflects, on one hand, depersonalization of an individual, and, on the other, blurring of the boundaries between large social groups. At the same time, the author puts forward the idea that mass, in a sense, exists as a real-ity parallel to the group social (and socio-psychological) reality. Therefore, it would be more correct to speak not about disappearance of large groups, but rather about a ten-dency of mass mental phenomena to spread in the society, as well as about society's sporadic acquisition of the mass-like state. It is shown that the usual state of mass is that of spatially disintegrated and dispersed, but when it undergoes significant perturbations, it has a tendency to localized concentration and peculiar condensation. Such mass con-centration is commonly referred to as crowd. However, the concept of crowd is clearly debatable. Moreover, its interpretation is notably prejudiced or rather demonized. There-fore, it is suggested to replace it with the term “concentrated mass of people” or simply “concentrated mass” (CM). The author introduces the concepts of randomly concen-trated mass (RCM) and mass subject of joint activities (MSJA), which describe qualita-tively different states of CM (different types of crowds in traditional terms). It is argued that the emergence of MSJA is the initial phase of the group formation, which occurs much faster and more productively than in the everyday life routine. From this angle, the events of the Orange Revolution and the Revolution of Dignity are analyzed. The author considers possible MSJA transformations into mass movements, political parties and other forms of social activities. The ways of neutralizing CM aggressive behavior, which is socially dangerous, are discussed.