Introduction
Collective performance refers to how groups act and achieve outcomes together, as opposed to individual performance. Across academic disciplines, scholars have developed theories to explain what makes groups effective, how group identity forms and how collective action influences society. This article provides a historical overview of collective performance theories across sociology, psychology organisational behaviour, theatre studies and political science. It covers key theoretical frameworks – including social identity theory, team effectiveness models, dramaturgical analysis and collective efficacy theory – and examines their applications in different historical contexts (industrial organisations, artistic performances, social movements, sports teams and governance). Historical case studies from a range of cultures, illustrate how these theories play out in practice. Finally, the analysis shows how collective performance has shaped societal development, governance and innovation.
Historical Evolution of Collective Performance Theories
Early Perspectives (late 19th – early 20th century): The study of collective behaviour emerged in sociology in the late 1800s. Gustave Le Bon’s work on crowd psychology (1895) argued that crowds foster irrational, emotionally charged behaviour, suggesting individuals lose their conscious personalities in groups (Collective Behavior | Introduction to Sociology). Early collective behaviour theories (e.g., Le Bon and later Herbert Blumer in 1969) emphasised the irrationality of crowds, portraying group behaviour as something wild and uncontrolled (Collective Behavior | Introduction to Sociology). The late 19th century was a time of rapid urbanisation and mass movements and scholars were grappling with phenomena like mass protests, panics and the rise of public crowds.
Mid-20th Century Developments: As the 20th century progressed, perspectives shifted. Researchers began to view group behaviour as more rational and structured. The Emergent-Norm Theory (Turner & Killian, 1957) proposed that crowds develop new norms in unusual situations, suggesting crowd actions could be logical responses to context rather than pure chaos (Collective Behavior | Introduction to Sociology). In psychology, Norman Triplett’s 1898 study on cyclists often cited as the first social psychology experiment, demonstrated that the presence of others could improve individual performance (a phenomenon later called social facilitation). During the 1930s, the Hawthorne Studies by Elton Mayo examined factory workers and found that social factors and group norms had a profound effect on productivity. This marked a turning point in organisational behaviour: it highlighted that workers are not just isolated individuals but are influenced by team morale, supervision style and peer relationships. The Hawthorne researchers observed that cohesive workgroups with strong social bonds tended to be more productive, thus underlining the importance of teamwork and informal group norms in industrial settings.
Late 20th Century Integration: By the late 20th century, research on group dynamics became highly interdisciplinary. Sociologist Kurt Lewin’s field theory in the 1940s laid groundwork for understanding group dynamics and leadership influence. Bruce Tuckman’s 1965 model described stages of group development (“forming, storming, norming, performing”), which became widely used in management training. In sociology and political science, the 1970s saw the rise of resource mobilisation theory, which treated social movements as rational group efforts. This theory, developed by scholars like John McCarthy and Mayer Zald, argued that success in social movements depends on effective gathering and use of resources (time, money, skills) and on organizations’ ability to mobilise supporters (Resource mobilization - Wikipedia). This was a departure from earlier views that saw crowds and movements as spontaneous or irrational; instead, movements were analysed as purposeful organized collective actions. Around the same time, Henri Tajfel and John Turner introduced Social Identity Theory (1979) to explain how individuals’ self-concepts are shaped by group memberships and how this affects intergroup behaviour. Additionally, Albert Bandura expanded psychological theories of efficacy to the group level, introducing Collective Efficacy in the 1980s as a group’s shared belief in its capability to achieve goals.
21st Century and Ongoing Research: In the 21st century, interest in collective performance remains strong across fields. Organisational scholars focus on team science and innovation, examining how diverse teams can solve complex problems. For example, Kozlowski and Ilgen (2006) reviewed half a century of team research and emphasised dynamic input-process-output models for team effectiveness. Globalisation and digital communication have led to new forms of collective action (e.g., virtual teams, online crowdsourcing, social media movements). Meanwhile, political scientists observe networked social movements (from the Arab Spring to environmental activism) through lenses of collective identity and performance. Across these eras, the evolution of collective performance theories shows a trend from viewing group behaviour as a curiosity or problem to be managed, toward seeing it as a key driver of productivity, creativity and social change.
Please note that parts of this article was assisted by an Artificial Intelligence (AI) tool. The AI has been used to generate certain content and provide information synthesis. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, the AI's contributions are based on its training data and algorithms and should be considered as supplementary information.
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