# Behavioral Contagion **Entity class:** Social-science concept **Domain:** Social psychology / collective behavior / network science **Maturity:** Developed ## Definition **Behavioral contagion** is the spread of observable conduct through exposure, imitation, social reinforcement, or changing perceptions of what others consider possible or legitimate. It is broader than ideology: a person may copy a tactic or performance without adopting the originating actor's complete worldview. In terrorism research, the concept helps distinguish the diffusion of attack scripts, targets, manifestos, propaganda styles, and publicity-seeking behavior from membership in an organization. It overlaps with copycat effects and [[wiki/Stochastic Terrorism|stochastic terrorism]], but neither exposure nor imitation alone supplies a complete causal explanation. ## Relationships - **applied to:** [[wiki/Contagion of Terrorism|Contagion of Terrorism]]. - **differs from:** [[wiki/Memetic Theory|Memetic Theory]], which centers cultural information and replication. - **network condition:** [[wiki/Social Network Analysis|Social Network Analysis]] can test clustering and pathways. - **countermeasure:** [[wiki/Inoculation Theory|Inoculation Theory]] and [[wiki/Prebunking|Prebunking]] address some informational mechanisms. ## Sources / Provenance - [National Institute of Justice — Social networks and domestic radicalization](https://nij.ojp.gov/library/publications/role-social-networks-facilitating-and-preventing-domestic-radicalization-what)