<P> Turner and Killian (1957) were the first sociologists to back their theoretical propositions with visual evidence in the form of photographs and motion pictures of collective behavior in action . Prior to that sociologists relied heavily upon eyewitness accounts, which turned out to be far less reliable than one would hope . </P> <P> Turner and Killian's approach is based largely upon the arguments of Blumer, who argued that social "forces" are not really forces . The actor is active: He creates an interpretation of the acts of others, and acts on the basis of this interpretation . </P> <P> Here are some instances of collective behavior: the Los Angeles riot of 1992, the hula - hoop fad of 1958, the stock market crashes of 1929, and the "phantom gasser" episodes in Virginia in 1933 - 34 and Mattoon, IL in 1944 (Locher 2002, Miller 2000). The claim that such diverse episodes all belong to a single field of inquiry is a theoretical assertion, and not all sociologists would agree with it . But Blumer and Neil Smelser did agree, as did others, indicating that the formulation has satisfied some leading sociological thinkers . </P> <P> Although there are several other schema that may be used to classify forms of collective behavior the following four categories from Blumer (1939) are generally considered useful by most sociologists . </P>

Who said sociology is a science of collective behaviour