ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on how collective behavior becomes conventionalized. It describes the social setting for certain collective behaviors in Cuba and shows how the revolutionary government has partially conventionalized them. The chapter explores the prevailing forms of collective behavior occurring in Cuba and to offer a sociological analysis of the collective behaviors produced by the institutions of the Cuban revolution. It discusses the procedures used in the sociological analysis. The chapter describes the institutional context of collective behavior in Cuba, showing the importance of two mass organizations, the Committees for the Defence of the Revolution and the Central Organization of Cuban Trade Unions. It explains the five forms of collective behavior abstracted from the data: political gatherings, testimonials of solidarity, ceremonials of reception, celebrations of death, and joyful crowds. The conventionalization and manipulation of collective behavior are central to the purposes and goals of the revolutionary government.
