the second group of mass society theorists, those who emphasized social disintegration and the quality of participation, was best represented by emil lederer, erich fromm, and sigmund neumann. selznick argued that these theorists leave the role of elites largely unexamined. they defined mass society as the era of mass man, a type defined not in terms of any relationship to a formally superior or intrinsically more qualified elite, but as the expression of a wider social disintegration. the homogeneous, amorphous, and undifferentiated individuals in the mass resulted from radical social changes which rendered old norms obsolete and old roles meaningless. psychological deterioration followed on social disorganization: 'as family, church, and traditional political ties weaken, a psychological atomization takes place.' this type of mass society theory pictures society as a crowd in which irrational, emotional acts predominate. "the readiness for manipulation by symbols, especially those permitting sado-masochistic releases, is characteristic of the mass as of the crowd."